THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

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OF  CALIFORNIA 

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< 


And  Tip  rolled  over  on  his  back  and  looked  up  into  the  blue  cloudless  sky. 
Frontia.  p.  27. 


TIP    LEWIS 


AND  HIS    LAMP 


BY 

PANSY 

Author  of  "Ester   Ried,"    "Cunning  Workmen,"    Grandp- 
Darlings,"  "  Four  Girls  at  Chautauqua,"  "  Mrs.  Sol- 
omon   Smith    Looking    On,"    "Estei    Ried 
Yet    Speaking,"  "  An  P^ndless 
Cham,''  etc.,  etc. 


BOSTON:  " 
D.    LOTHROP    &    COMPANY. 

FRA.NKUN   ST.,   CORNER   OF   HAWLEV. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  CongreM,  in  th«  ye*     1861,  hj 

HENRY   HOTT, 
IB  t&e  Offlo*  of  the  Librarian  of  Congrow,  •* 


THIS 

VOLUME 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATED   TO  MY 

DEAR  FATHER  AND  MOTHER, 

WHOSE      LOVING     ENCOURAGEMENT      IN    EARLY     YEARS      TAUGHT 
MY    PEN   TO   WRITE. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


622660 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

CHAPTER  I. 

"CABT   THT    BREAD  UPON  THX  WATKBS." 

r 

"HE  room  was  very  full.  Children, 
large  and  small,  boys  and  girls, 
and  some  looking  almost  old  enough 
to  be  called  men  and  women,  filled 
the  seats.  The  scholars  had  just  finished 
singing  their  best-loved  hymn,  "  Happy 
Land  ;  "  and  the  superintendent  was  walk- 
ing up  and  down  the  room,  spying  out 
classes  here  and  there  which  were  without 
teachers,  and  supplying  them  from  the  vi* 

itor's  seat,  which  was  up  by  the  desk. 
6 


TIP  LEW  IB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

The  long  seat  near  the  door  was  filled,  this 
morning,  by  half  a  dozen  dirty,  ragged, 
barefooted  boys ;  their  teacher's  seat  was 
vacant,  and  those  boys  looked,  every  one,  as 
though  they  had  come  thither  just  to  have  a 
grand  frolic. 

Oh,  such  bright  cunning,  wicked  faces,  as 
they  had ! 

Their  torn  pants  and  jackets,  their  matted 
hair,  even  the  very  twinkle  in  their  eyes, 
showed  that  they  were  the  "  Mission  Class." 

That  is,  the  class  which  somebody  had 
gathered  from  the  little  black,  comfortless 
looking  houses,  which  thronged  a  narrow 
back  street  of  that  village,  and  coaxed  to 
come  to  the  Sabbath  school, — to  this  large, 
light,  pleasant  room,  where  the  sun  shone  in 
upon  little  girls  in  white  dresses,  with  blue 
and  pink  ribbons  fluttering  from  their  shoul- 
ders ;  and  upon  little  boys,  whose  snowy 
linen  collars,  and  dainty  knots  of  black  rib- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

bon  bad  evidently  been  arranged  by  carefuJ 
hands  that  very  morning. 

But  those  boys  in  the  corner  kicked  their 
bare  heels  together,  pulled  each  others'  hair, 
or  laughed  in  each  others'  faces  in  the  great- 
est good  humor. 

The  superintendent  stopped  before  them. 

"  Well,  boys,  good  morning ;  glad  to  see 
you  all  here.  Where's  your  teacher  ?  " 

"  Hain't  got  none !  "  answered  one. 

"  Gone  to  Guinea  !  "  said  another. 

"  She  was  afraid  of  us,"  explained  a  third. 
"  Tip,  here,  put  his  foot  through  one  of  her 
lace  flounces  last  Sunday.  Tip's  the  worst 
boy  we've  got,  any  how." 

The  boys  all  seemed  to  think  this  was  very 
funny,  for  they  laughed  so  loudly,  that  the 
little  girls  at  their  right  looked  over  to  see 
what  was  the  matter. 

Tip  ran  his  fingers  through  his  uncombed 
hair,  and  laughed  with  the  rest 


UP  LEfrIB  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

"  Well,"  said  the  superintendent,  "  I'm 
going  to  get  you  a  teacher,  one  you  will 
like,  I  guess ;  I  shall  expect  you  to  treat  her 
well." 

There  was  just  one  person  left  on  the  vis- 
itor's seat,  —  a  young  lady  who  looked  shy 
and  quiet. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Parker!"  she  said,  when  the 
superintendent  told  her  what  he  wanted,  "  I 
can't  take  that  class ;  I've  watched  those 
boys  ever  since  they  came  in  —  they  look 
mischievous  enough  for  anything,  and  act  as 
they  look." 

"  Then  shall  we  leave  then  with  nothing 
but  mischief  to  take  up  their  attention  ?  " 

"  No,  but  —  they  really  ought  to  have  a 
better  teacher  than  I,  —  some  one  who  knows 
how  to  interest  them." 

"  But,  Miss  Perry,  the  choice  lies  between 
you  and  no  one." 

And  while  she  still  hesitated  and   looked 


FIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP  » 

distressed,  Mr.  Parker  bent  forward  a  little 
and  said,  softly,  — 

"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  not  to 
me." 

The  lady  rose  quickly,  and  gathered  her 
mantle  about  her. 

"  I  will  go,  Mr.  Parker,"  she  said,  speak- 
ing quickly,  as  if  afraid  her  courage  would 
fail  her.  "  Since  there  is  no  one  else,  I  wil 
do  the  best  I  can  ;  but,  oh,  I  am  afraid." 

Down  the  long  room  past  the  rows  of 
neatly  dressed,  attentive  children,  Mr.  Par- 
ker led  her  to  the  seat  near  the  door. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  he,  "  this  is  Miss  Perry  ; 
suppose  you  see  if  you  can't  all  be  gentle- 
men, and  treat  her  well." 

Miss  Perry  sat  down  in  the  teacher's  chair, 
her  heart  all  in  a  flutter ;  she  taught  a  class 
in  her  own  Sabbath  school  hundreds  of  miles 
away,  —  five  rosy-cheeked,  bright-eyed  little 


10  Tit   LEWIS  AAD  HIS  LAMP. 

girls  gathered  around  her  every  Sabbath,  — 
but  they  were  little  girls  whose  mothers 
had  taught  them  to  love  their  lessons,  to 
listen  respectfully  to  what  their  teacher  said, 
to  bow  their  heads  reverently  in  prayer  ;  and, 
more  than  that,  they  loved  her,  and  she 
loved  them.  But  these  boys !  Still  she 
must  say  something ;  six  pairs  of  bright, 
roguish  eyes,  brimful  of  fire  and  fun,  were 
bent  on  her. 

"  Boys,"  she  said,  gently,  u  have  you  any 
lessons  for  me  ?  " 

"  Not  much,"  answered  Bob  Turner,  who 
always  spoke  first. 

"  We  don't  get  lessons  mostly.  Don't 
come  unless  it's  too  hot  to  go  fishing  or 
berrying." 

"  Tip  comes  'cause  he's  too  lazy  to  go  past 
the  door." 

•'  I  don't ! "    drawled  out    the  boy   they 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


11 


called  Tip  ;  "  I  come  to  get  out  of  the  sun ; 
it's  hotter  than  sixty  down  home." 

"  Never  mind,  boys,"  said  their  frightened 
teacher  ;  for  they  were  all  laughing  now,  as 
though  the  funniest  thing  in  the  world  had 
happened.  "  See  here,  since  you  have  no 
lessons,  shall  I  tell  you  a  story  ?  " 

O  yes,  they  were  willing  enough  to  hear  a 
story,  if  it  wasn't  stupid. 

"  I'll  tell  you  something  that  happened  to 
a  boy  when  he  was  about  thirteen  years  old ; 
his  name  is  Robert;  he  told  me  this  story 
himself,  so  you  may  be  sure  it  is  true. 

"  He  said  one  evening  he  was  walking 
slowly  down  the  main  street  of  the  village 
where  he  lived —  " 

"  Where  was  that  ?  "  asked  Bob  Turner. 

"  Oh,  it  was  away  out  west.  He  said  he 
felt  cross  and  unhappy  ;  he  had  nowhere  in 
particular  to  go,  and  nothing  to  do.  As  he 
walked,  he  came  to  a  turn  where  two  roar'  i 


12  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

met.  '  Now,'  thought  he,  *  shall  I  turn  to 
the  left  and  go  home,  and  hang  around  until 
bedtime,  or  shall  I  turn  to  the  right  and  go 
down  to  the  river  a  while  ? ' 

"  You  see,  Robert  hadn't  a  happy  home,  — 
his  mother  was  dead,  and  his  father  was  a 
drunkard. 

"  While  he  stood  thinking,  a  boy  came 
around  the  other  corner,  and  called  out,  — 

" '  Going  home,  Rob  ? ' 

"  4  Don't  know,'  said  Robert ;  '  I  can't 
make  up  my  mind.' 

" '  Suppose  you  come  on  down  to  our 
house,  and  we'll  have  a  game  of  ball  ? ' 

Still  Robert  waited.  He  was  fond  of 
playing  ball,  —  that  was  certain,  —  and  he 
liked  company  better  than  to  walk  alone; 
why  he  should  think  of  wandering  off  down 
to  the  river  by  himself  he  was  sure  he  didn't 
know.  Still  something  seemed  to  keep  say- 
ing to  him,  '  Go  this  way  —  turn  to  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


13 


right ;  come,  go  to  the  river,'  until  he  said 
at  last,  — 

"  *  No,  I  guess  I'll  take  a  walk  this  way, 
first.' 

"  And  he  turned  the  corner,  then  he  was 
but  a  few  steps  from  the  river." 

"  What  came  of  the  other  fellow?  "  asked 
Bob. 

"  Why,  some  more  boys  came  up  just 
then,  and  he  walked  along  with  them. 

"  There  was  a  large  elm-tree  on  the  river- 
bank,  and  there  was  one  particular  spot 
under  it  that  Robert  called  his  seat ;  but  he 
found  a  gentleman  seated  there  this  time; 
he  had  a  book  in  his  hand,  partly  closed,  and 
he  was  leaning  back  against  a  tree,  watch- 
ing the  sunset. 

"  He  looked  around  as  he  heard  Robert's 
step,  and  said, '  Good  evening ;  will  you  have 
a  seat?' 


14  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  He  moved  along,  and  Robert  sat  down 
on  the  grass  near  him  ;  then  he  said,  — 

"  *  I  heard  a  boy  call  out  to  another  just 
now,  "  Going  home,  Robert  ?  "  Are  you  the 
boy?' 

"  *  No,'  said  Robert ;  '  Hal  Carter  screamed 
that  out  to  me  just  as  he  came  round  the 
corner.' 

"  *  Oh,  you  are  the  one  he  was  talking  to. 
Well,  I'll  ask  you  the  same  question.  Are 
you  going  home  ? ' 

"  *  No,'  said  Robert,  again ;  '  I  have  just 
walked  straight  away  from  home.' 

"  *  Yes  ;  but  are  you  going  up  there  f ' 
And  the  gentleman  pointed  up  to  the  blue 
sky. 

"  *  That's  the  home  I  mean  ;  I've  just  been 
reading  about  it ;  this  river  made  me  think 
of  it.  Where  it  says,  you  know,  "  And  he 
showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water,  clear  as 
crystal;"  then  it  goes  on  to  describe  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


15 


city  with  its  "  gates  of  pearl  "  and  "  streets 
of  gold,"  the  robes  and  crowns  that  the  peo- 
ple wear,  the  harps  on  which  they  play,  and, 
after  this  warm  day,  I  couldn't  help  thinking 
that  one  of  the  pleasantest  things  about  this 
home  was  the  promise,  "Neither  shall  the 
sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat."  Aren't 
you  going  to  that  home,  my  boy  ?  ' 

"'  1  don't  know,"  Robert  said,  feeling  very 
much  astonished. 

At  this  point,  the  superintendent's  bell 
rang,  and  Miss  Perry  had  to  hasten  her 
story. 

"  I  haven't  time,  boys,  to  tell  you  all  the 
gentleman  said,  but  after  that  talk,  Robert 
began  to  think  about  these  things  a  great 
deal,  and  pretty  soon  he  learned  to  read  the 
Bible  and  to  pray  ;  that  was  more  than  fifty 
years  ago.  He  is  an  old  minister  now ;  I 
have  heard  him  preach  a  great  many  times ; 
and  he  told  me  once  he  should  always  be- 


16  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

lieve  God  put  it  into  his  heart  to  turn  to  the 
right,  that  evening,  instead  of  the  left." 

"  Oh !  "  exclaimed  Tip,  just  here  ;  and 
Miss  Perry  stopped. 

"  Joe  pinched  me,"  said  Tip,  to  explain  his 
part  of  the  noise. 

But  their  teacher  felt  very  badly ;  they 
had  not  listened  to  her  story  as  though  they 
cared  to  hear  it ;  they  had  slid  up  and  down 
the  seat,  pulled  and  pinched  and  pricked 
each  other,  and  done  a  great  many  mischiev 
OILS  things  since  she  commenced  ;  and  yet 
now  and  then  they  seemed  to  hear  a  few 
words ;  so  she  kept  on,  because  she  did  not 
know  what  else  to  do. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Parker !  "  she  said,  when  the 
school  was  dismissed  and  her  nois^  class 
had  scrambled,  some  through  the  \vind^«r 
and  some  through  the  door,  "  some  man,  who 
understands  boys,  ought  to  have  had  that 
class;  I  haven't  done  them  any  good,  but 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  UIS  LAMP. 


17 


/  tried ; "  and  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes  as 
she  spoke. 

"  You  did  what  you  could,"  said  the 
superintendent,  kindly  ;  "  none  of  us  can  do 
more." 

Some  loving  voice  ought  to  have  whis- 
pered in  that  teacher's  ear,  "•  He  that  goeth 
forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing, 
bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 


CHAPTER  II. 

"BUT  OTHER  FELL  IHTO  GOOD  GROUND,  AND  BROUGHT 
FORTH  FRUIT." 

LEWIS  yawned  and  stretched, 
and  finally  opened  his  eyes  rather 
late  on  Monday  morning. 

"  Oh,  bother ! "  he  said,  with 
another  yawn,  when  he  saw  how  the  sun 
was  pouring  into  the  room,  "  I  suppose  a  fel- 
low has  got  to  get  up.  I  wish  getting  uj 
wasn't  such  hard  work,  —  spoils  all  the  fun 
of  going  to  bed ;  but  then  the  old  cat  will  be 
to  pay,  if  I  don't  get  around  soon." 
And  with  this  he  rolled  out ;  and  \*  hen  he 

was  dressed,  which  was  in  a  very  fev  mi/i 
18 


TAP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


19 


utes  after  he  tumbled  out  of  his  ragged  bed, 
he  was  the  self-same  Tip  who  had  been  at 
the  bottom  of  most  of  the  mischief  in  Miss 
Perry's  class  the  day  before,  —  the  very 
same,  from  the  curly  hair,  not  yet  combed 
nor  likely  to  be,  down  to  the  bare,  soiled 
feet. 

The  bed  which  he  had  just  left,  so  far  as 
neatness  was  concerned,  looked  very  much 
like  Tip  ;  and  the  room  looked  like  the  bed, 
and  they  all  looked  about  as  badly  as  dust 
and  rags  and  poverty  could  make  them 
look. 

After  running  his  fingers  through  his  hair, 
by  way  of  finishing  his  toilet,  Tip  made  his 
way  down  the  rickety  stairs,  to  the  kitchen. 

It  seemed  as  though  that  kitchen  was  just 
calculated  to  make  a  boy  feel  cross.  The 
table  stood  against  the  wall  on  its  three  legs, 
the  table-cloth  was  daubed  with  molasses 
and  stained  with  gravy ;  a  plate,  with  some- 


20  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

thing  in  it  which  looked  like  melted  lard,  — 
but  which  Tip's  mother  called  butter,  —  and 
a  half  loaf  of  bread,  were  the  only  eatable 
articles  as  yet  on  the  table ;  and  around 
these  the  flies  had  gathered  in  such  numbers 
that  it  almost  seemed  as  though  they  might 
carry  the  loaf  away  entirely,  if  too  many  of 
them  didn't  drown  themselves  in  the  butter  ; 
over  all  the  July  sun  poured  in  its  rays  from 
the  eastern  window,  the  only  one  in  the 
room. 

Tip  stumbled  over  his  father's  boots,  and 
made  his  way  to  the  stove,  where  his  mother 
was  bending  over  a  spider  of  sizzling  pork. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  as  he  came  near,  "  did 
you  get  up  for  all  day  ?  I'd  be  ashamed  — 
great  boy  like  you  —  to  lie  in  bed  till  thia 
time  of  day,  and  let  your  mother  split  wood 
and  bring  water  to  cook  your  breakfast 
with." 

"  You  cooked  a  little  for  you,  too,  didn't 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  21 

you  ? "  asked  Tip,  in  a  saucy  good-natured 
tone.  "  Where's  father  ?  " 

"  Just  where  you  have  been  all  day  so 
far,"  in  bed  and  asleep.  Such  folks  as  I've 
got !  I'm  sick  of  living." 

And  Mrs.  Lewis  stepped  back  from  the 
steaming  tea-kettle,  and  wiped  great  beads 
of  perspiration  from  her  forehead  ;  then 
fanned  herself  with  her  big  apron,  looking 
meantime  very  tired  and  cross. 

Yet  Tip's  mother  was  not  so  cross  after  all 
as  she  seemed ;  had  Tip  only  known  it,  her 
heart  was  very  heavy  that  morning.  She 
did  not  blame  his  father  for  his  morning 
nap,  not  a  bit  of  it ;  she  was  only  glad  that 
the  weary  frame  could  rest  a  little  after  a 
night  of  pain.  She  had  been  up  since  the 
first  gray  dawn  of  morning,  bathing  his 
head,  straightening  the  tangled  bed-clothes, 
walking  the  floor  with  the  restless  baby,  in 
order  that  her  husband  might  have  quiet 


22  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIB  LAMP. 

O  no  ;  there  were  worse  women  in  the  world 
than  Mrs.  Lewis ;  but,  this  morning,  her  life 
looked  very  wretched  to  her,  —  she  thought 
of  her  idle,  mischievous  boy  ;  of  her  naughty, 
high-tempered  little  girl ;  of  her  fat,  healthy 
baby  who  took  so  much  of  her  time,  of  her 
husband,  who,  though  she  never  said  it  to 
him,  or  even  to  herself,  yet  she  knew  and 
felt  was  every  day  growing  weaker ;  and 
with  these  came  the  remembrance  that  her 
<wn  tired  hands  were  all  that  lay  between 
them  and  want ;  and  it  is  hardly  a  wonder 
that  her  voice  was  sharp  and  her.  words  illy 
chosen.  For  this  mother  tried  to  bear  all 
her  trials  alone  ;  she  never  went  for  help  to 
the  Redeemer,  who  said,  — 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are 
heavy  laden." 

"  Wah !  "  said  Johnny,  from  his  cradle  in 
the  bit  of  a  bedroom  near  the  kitchen,  — 
which  kitchen  was  all  the  room  they  had. 


0 

TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  2b 

tjave  two  tiny  bedrooms  and  Tip's  little  den 
up  stairs. 

Mrs.  Lewis  glanced  quickly  towards  the 
door  of  her  husband's  room,  it  was  closed ; 
then  she  called,  — 

"  Kitty,  make  that  baby  go  to  sleep  !  " 

"  O  yes,"  muttered  Kitty,  who  sat  on  the 
floor  lacing  her  old  shoe  with  a  white  cord, 
"  it's  easy  to  say  that,  but  I'd  just  like  to 
see  you  do  it." 

"  Ah  yah  !  "  answered  Johnny  from  the 
cradle,  as  though  he  tried  to  say,  "  So  should 
I." 

Then  not  being  noticed,  hs  gave  up  pre- 
tending to  cry,  and  screamed,  in  good  earn- 
est, loud  positive  yells,  which  brought  his 
mother  in  haste  from  the  kitchen. 

"  Ugly  girl,"  she  said  to  Kitty,  as  she 
lifted  the  conquering  hero  from  his  cradle, 
"  you  don't  care  how  soon  your  father  is 
waked  out  of  the  only  nap  he  has  had  all 


ft 
24  TIP  LE  WJB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


night.  Why  didn't  you  rock  the  cradle §! 
I've  a  notion  to  whip  you  this  minute  !  " 

"  I  did,"  answered  Kitty,  sulkily  ;  "  and 
he  opened  his  eyes  at  me  as  wide  as  he  could 
stretch  them." 

Crash !  went  something  at  that  moment  in 
Uie  kitchen ;  and,  with  Johnny  in  her  arms, 
Mrs.  Lewis  ran  back  to  see  what  new  trouble 
she  had  to  meet.  Tip,  meantime,  had  been 
in  business  ;  being  hungry,  he  had  cut  a  slice 
of  bread  from  the  loaf,  and  in  the  act  of 
reaching  over  to  help  himself  to  some  but- 
ter, hit  his  arm  against  a  pitcher  of  water 
standing  on  the  corner  of  the  table.  Over 
it  went  and  broke,  just  as  pitchers  will  when- 
ever they  get  a  chance.  This  was  too  much 
for  the  tired  mother's  patience;  what  little 
she  had  vauished.  She  tossed  the  slice  of 
bread  at  Tip,  and,  as  she  did  so,  said,  — 

"  There !  take  that,  and  be  off.  Don't  let 
me  see  a  sight  of  your  face  again  to-day 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  26 

March !   this  instant,  or  you  will  wish   you 
had." 

And  in  the  midst  of  the  din,  while  his 
mother  looked  after  the  pork,  which  had 
seized  this  occasion  for  burning  fast  to  the 
spider,  Tip  managed  to  spread  his  slice  of 
bread,  find  his  hat,  and  make  good  his  escape 
froni  the  comfortless  home. 

There  was  an  hour  yet  to  school-time  ;  or, 
for  the  matter  of  that,  he  might  have  the 
whole  day.  Tip  went  to  school,  or  let  it 
alone,  just  as  he  pleased.  He  made  his  way 
straight  to  his  favorite  spot,  the  broad,  deep 
pond,  and  laid  himself  down  on  its  grassy 
bank  to  chat  with  the  fishes. 

"  My !  "  he  said,  "  how  nice  they  look 
whisking  about;  it's  cool  down  there,  I 
know  ;  they  don't  mind  the  sun.  I  wish  I 
had  my  fish-pole  here,  I'd  have  one  of  them 
Bhiny  big  fellows  there  for  my  dinner ;  only 
it's  too  hot  to  fish,  and  it  would  seem  kind 


26  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

of  mean  besides  to  get  him  up  here  in  this 
blazing  sun.  Hang  me,  if  I  make  even  a 
fish  get  out  of  the  water  to-day,  when  it  can 
stay  in." 

Of  all  the  scholars  in  Miss  Perry's  class, 
the  one  who  she  would  have  said  paid  the 
least  attention,  was  this  same  boy  who  was 
lying  on  his  face  by  the  pond,  envying  the 
fishes.  Yet  Tip  had  heard  nearly  every 
word  she  said ;  and  now,  as  he  looked  into 
the  water  which  lay  cool  in  the  shade  of 
some  broad,  branching  trees,  there  came  into 
his  heart  the  music  of  those  words  again. 

"  Neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor 
any  heat." 

"  I  declare !  "  he  said,  as  the  meaning  of 
those  words  dawned  upon  him,  "  I'd  like 
that !  they'll  never  be  too  warm  again ;  it 
was  a  pretty  nice  story  she  told  us  about 
that  boy.  He  couldn't  have  had  a  very  good 
time ;  his  father  was  a  drunkard.  T  wish  T 


TIP  LEW  IB  AND  HIS  LAMP.  *' 

knew  just  about  what  kind  of  a  fellow  he 
was ;  he  turned  right  square  round  after  that 
man  talked  to  him.  Now  he  is  a  minister ; 
I  suppose  lots  of  people  like  him.  It  must 
be  kind  of  nice,  the  whole  of  it.  I  would 
like  to  be  somebody,  as  true  as  I  live. 
I  would.  I'd  like  to  have  the  people  say, 
4  There  goes  Tip  Lewis ;  he's  the  best  boy 
in  town.'  Bless  me  !  that  would  be  funny  ; 
I  don't  believe  they  could  ever  say  it ;  they 
are  so  used  to  calling  me  the  worst,  they 
couldn't  help  it.  What  if  I  should  reform ; 
I  declare,  I  don't  know  but  I  will."  • 

And  Tip  rolled  over  on  his  back,  and 
looked  up  into  the  blue  cloudless  sky  ;  lying 
there,  he  certainly  had  some  of  the  most 
sober  thoughts,  perhaps  the  only  really  so- 
ber ones  he  had  ever  known  in  his  life. 
And  when  at  last  he  slowly  picked  himself 
up,  turned  his  back  upon  the  darting  fishes, 
and  walked  towards  the  school-house,  he  had 


28  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

in  his  mind  some  vague  notion  that  perhaps 
he  would  be  different  from  that  time  forth. 
Just  what  he  was  going  to  do,  or  how  to 
commence  doing  it,  he  didn't  know  ;  but  the 
story,  to  which  he  had  seemed  not  to  listen 
at  all,  had  crept  into  his  heart,  had  com- 
menced its  work,  —  very  dimly  was  it  work- 
ing, very  blindly  he  might  grope  for  a  while, 
but  the  seed  sown  had  taken  root. 


CHAPTER  III. 

"  INASMUCH  AS  YE  DID  IT  UNTO  ONE  OF  THE  LEAST  OF  THBBI 
MY  BBETHREN,  TE  DID  IT  UNTO  MB." 


the  corner,  and  far  up  the 
street  from  where  Tip  Lewis  lived, 
there  stood  a  large  white  house  ;  not 
another  house  in  the  village  was  so 
beautiful  as  this  ;  many  a  time  had  Tip 
walked  slowly  by  the  place,  and  cast  the 
most  admiring  glances  on  the  broad  green 
lawns  and  bubbling  fountain,  of  which  he 
caught  glimpses  from  the  road.  Often  he 
had  stood  outside,  at  the  great  gate,  and 
fairly  longed  for  a  nearer  view  of  that  same 
fountain  ;  for  the  truth  was,  though  he  was 


80 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


such  a  rough  mischief-making, —  yes,  a  wicked 
boy,  down  in  his  heart  he  had  a  great  love 
for  beautiful  things. 

On  this  fourth  of  July  morning,  Tip  was 
up  and  abroad  very  early  —  he  held  a  horse 
which  had  been  so  frightened  by  fire-crack 
ers  that  it  wouldn't  stand  still  -a  minute,  and 
the  owner  of  it  gave  him  ten  cents,  with 
which  he  immediately  bought  fire-crackers 
for  himself,  and  frightened  the  very  next 
horse  he  saw.  When  the  great  cannon  on 
the  hill  was  fired,  he  got  in  the  way,  just 
as  much  as  he  knew  how,  which  was  a  great 
deal, — he  contrived  to  be  around  when  the 
largest  bell  was  rung,  and  add  his  voice  to 
the  uproar  among  the  boys,  who  were  gath- 
ered around  the  church  doors  —  indeed, 
wherever  there  was  commotion  or  confusion 
Tip  managed  very  soon  to  be,  and  to  do  his 
part  towards  making  the  most  of  it. 

About  ten  o'clock   he  had  lived   out  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


31 


most  of  his  pleasures,  having  been  on  hand 
since  a  little  after  three.  He  had  no  more 
money  to  spend,  saw  no  chance  of  getting 
any  more ;  he  had  had  no  breakfast,  and 
was  very  much  in  doubt  as  to  whether  he 
would  get  any,  if  he  took  the  trouble  to  go 
home  ;  he  had  some  way  lost  track  of  all  his 
companions,  and,  altogether,  he  was  begin- 
ning to  feel  as  if  the  Fourth  of  July  were  a 
humbug  —  he  felt  ill-used,  angry ;  it  seemed 
to  him  that  he  was  being  cheated  out  of  a 
good  time  that  he  expected  to  have.  He 
sat  down  on  the  edge  of  an  old  sugar-barrel, 
and  thought  about  it  a  while,  then  finally, 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  whistling 
"  Yankee  Doodle  "  in  honor  of  the  day,  he 
sauntered  along  the  street  in  search  of  some- 
thing to  take  up  his  time. 

Hurrying  towards  him,  with  hands  not  in 
his  pockets,  but  full  of  packages,  came  Mr. 


82  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

Minturn,  the  owner  of  the  grand  white 
house  on  the  hill. 

To  Tip's  surprise,  the  gentleman  halted 
suddenly  before  him,  and  eyeing  him  closely, 
asked,  — 

**  Whose  boy  are  you  ?  " 

"John  Lewis's  " 

"  Where  do  you  live  ?  " 

"  T'other  side  of  the  pond,  by  the  mill  ?  " 

"  Oh,  your  father  is  the  carpenter,  I  sup- 
pose —  I  know  him.  What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Tip." 

"  Tip !  What  kind  of  a  name  is  that ;  is 
it  all  the  one  you  own  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Tip,  "  I  suppose  my  name 
was  Edward  when  I  was  a  little  shaver ;  but 
nobody  knows  it  now  ;  I  don't  myself." 

"  Well,  Tip,  then,  I'll  call  you  that,  for  T 
want  you  to  know  yourself  to-night.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  When,   to-night  ?     Oh,   hang   around,  T 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  83 

s'pose  —  have  some  fun,  if  I  can  find 
any." 

"Fun.  Is  that  what  you're  after?  You 
come  up  to  my  house  to-night  at  dark,  and 
see  if  you  can  find  it  there,  —  we  are  going 
to  have  fire-works,  and  songs,  and  all  the 
fun  we  can." 

Tip  was  not  by  any  means  a  bashful  boy, 
and  it  took  a  great  deal  to  astonish  him  ;  but 
this  sudden  invitation  almost  took  his  breath 
away,  —  the  idea  that  Mr.  Minturn  had  actu- 
ally invited  him,  Tip  Lewis,  to  come  to  the 
white  house  ;  to  come  near  to  that  wonderful 
fountain,  near  enough  perhaps  to  feel  the 
dash  of  its  spray,  —  he  could  have  danced 
for  joy,  yet  when  Mr.  Minturn  said,  — 

"  Well,  will  you  come  ?  " 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  was  known 
to  stammer  and  hesitate. 

"I  —  I  don't  —  know,  I  haven't  got  any 
clothes." 


34  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

"  Clothes !  "  repeated  Mr.  Minturn  ;  "  what 
do  you  call  those  things  which  you  have 
on?" 

"  I  call  'em  rags,  sir,"  answered  Tip,  his 
embarrassment  gone,  and  the  mischief  twink- 
ling back  into  his  face  again. 

Mr.  Minturu  laughed,  and  looked  down  on 
the  torn  jacket  and  pants. 

"  Not  a  bad  name,"  he  said  at  last.  "  But 
you've  got  water  at  your  house,  haven't 
you  ?  " 

"  Lots  of  it." 

"  Then  put  your  head  into  a  tub  of  it,  and 
bring  a  clean  face  up  to  my  house  to-night, 
and  we'll  try  and  find  that  fun  you're  look- 
ing for." 

And  Mr.  Minturn,  who  had  spent  a  great 
deal  of  time  for  him,  was  passing  on.  "  See 
here,"  he  called,  after  he  had  moved  forward 
a  few  steps,  ''if  you  see  any  boy  raggeder 
than  you  are  yourself,  bring  him  along,  — 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  35 

oring    every  boy   and    girl    you  meet  who 
haven't  anywhere  else  to  go." 

"  Ho !  "  said  Tip,  as  soon  as  the  gentleman 
was  at  safe  distance,  "  if  this  isn't  rich,  then 
I  don't  know,  —  fire-works  in  that  great 
yard,  pretty  near  the  fountain  may  be,  and 
lots  of  fun.  We  can  take  anybody  we  like. 
I  know  what  I'U  do.  I'll  hunt  up  Bob  Tur- 
ner ;  his  jacket  has  got  enough  sight  more 
holes  in  than  mine  has.  Oh,  ho !  ain't  it 
grand,  though  ?  "  And  Tip  clapped  his 
hands  and  whistled,  and  at  last  finding  that 
didn't  express  his  feelings,  said,  "  Hurrah !  " 

* 

in  a  good  strong  tone. 

Yes,  hurrah  !  Tip  is  right ;  it  is  glorious 
to  think  that  one  man  out  of  his  abundance 
is  going  to  open  his  heart,  and  gather  in 
God's  poor,  and,  for  one  evening  at  least, 
make  them  happy. 

God  bless  Mr.  Minturn ! 

Never  had  the  good  man's  grounds  enter 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

tained  such  a  group  as,  from  all  quarters  of 
the  large  town,  gathered  before  it  was  quite 
dark. 

Ragged  boys  and  girls.!  If  those  were 
what  he  wanted  he  had  them,  sure  enough, 
of  almost  every  age  and  size.  There  were 
some  not  so  ragged ;  some  in  dainty  white 
dresses  and  shining  jackets ;  but  they  went 
down  and  mingled  with  the  others,  —  broth 
ers  and  sisters  for  that  night  at  least,  —  and 
were  all,  oh,  so  happy  ! 

How  they  did  dance  and  laugh  and  scream 
around  that  fountain,  and  snap  torpedoes 
and  fire-crackers,  and  shout  with  wild  de- 
light when  the  rockets  shot  up  into  the  sky, 
or  the  burning  wheels  spun  round  and  round, 
scattering  showers  of  real  fire  right  in  among 
the  crowds  of  children  ! 

Well,  the  evening  hasted  away  ;  the 
very  last  rocket  took  its  bright,  rushing  way 
np  into  the  blue  sky,  and  Mr.  Minturn  gatlv 


flP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  37 

e  'ed  his  company  around  the  piazza  with  the 
words,  — 

"  Now,  children,  Mr.  Holbrook  has  a  few 
words  to  say  to  you,  and  after  that,  as  soon 
as  we  have  sung  a  hymn,  it  will  be  time  to 
go  home." 

Mr.  Holbrook  was  the  minister ;  many 
'of  the  children  knew  him  well,  and  most  of 
them  were  ready  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say, 
because  they  knew,  by  experience,  that  he 
was  old  enough  and  wise  enough  not  to 
make  a  long,  dry  speech  after  nine  o'clock 
on  the  Fourth  of  July. 

Only  Tip,  as  he  turned  longingly  away 
from  the  last  dying  spark  of  the  rocket,  mut- 
tered, "  Bother  the  preaching  !  " 

Mr.  Holbrook  came  forward  to  the  steps, 
as  the  boys  and  girls  gathered  around  him. 

"  Children,"  said  he,  M  we  have  had  a  good 
time  ;  haven't  we  ?  " 


38  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"Yes,  sir!"  came  in  aloud  chorus  from 
many  voices. 

"  Yes,  I  thought  you  acted  as  though  you 
felt  pretty  happy  ;  now  this  has  been  a  busy 
day,  and  we  are  all  tired,  so  I'm  not  going 
to  keep  you  here  to  make  a  speech  to  you ; 
I  just  want  to  tell  you,  in  as  few  words  as  I 
can,  what  I  have  been  thinking  about  since 
I  stood  here  to-night.  1  have  watched  you 
as  you  frolicked  around  that  fountain,  —  so 
many  young,  bright  faces,  all  looking  so 
happy,  —  and  I  said  to  myself,  When  the 
time  comes  for  us  to  gather  around  that 
fountain  of  living  water,  which  is  before  the 
throne  of  God,  I  wonder  if  one  of  these 
boys  and  girls  will  be  missing,  —  one  of 
them  ?  Oh,  children,  I  pray  God  that  you 
may  all  be  there,  every  one." 

Just  a  little  speech  it  was,  —  so  little  that 
the  youngest  there  might  almost  remember 
the  whole  of  it,  —  yet  it  meant  so  much. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


39 


Tip  Lewis  had  wedged  his  way  in  among 
the  boys  until  he  stood  very  near  the  minis- 
ter, and  his  face  wore  a  sober,  thoughtful 
look:  it  was  only  two  days  since  his  long 
talk  with  himself  at  the  pond.  Fourth  of 
July,  with  all  the  merry-making  and  mis- 
chief that  it  brought  to  him,  had  nearly 
driven  sober  thoughts  from  his  mind,  but  the 
minister's  solemn  words  brought  back  the 
memory  of  his  half-formed  resolves,  and 
again  he  said  to  himself  he  believed  he 
would  reform ;  this  time  he  added  that  if  he 
knew  about  how  to  do  it  he  would  begin 
right  away.  He  felt  it  more  than  ever 
when  the  sweet  voices  of  many  children 
floated  out  on  the  evening  air,  as  they 
sang,— 

"  I  have  rea3  of  a  world  of  beauty, 

Where  there  is  no  gloomy  night, 
Where  love  is  the  mainspring  of  duty, 
And  God  is  the  fountain  of  light. 


*  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  I  have  read  of  the  flowing  river, 

That  bursts  from  beneath  the  throne, 
And  beautiful  flowers  that  ever 

Are  found  ou  its  banks  alone. 
I  long,  —  I  long,  —  I  long  to  be  there  1 " 

If  somebody  had  only  known  Tip's 
thoughts  as  he  stood  there  listening  to 
the  beautiful  Sabbath-school  hymn !  If 
somebody  had  only  bent  down  to  him,  and 
whispered  a  few  words,  just  to  set  his  poor 
wandering  feet  into  the  narrow  way,  how 
blessed  it  would  have  been !  but  nobody 
did. 

Ah,  never  mind!  God  knew,  and  took 
care  of  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"THKT  THAT  SEEK  M^  SHALL  ram  MB." 

'RS.  LEWIS'S  room  was  in  order 
for  once  ;  swept,  and  even  dusted ; 
the  cook-stove  cooled  off,  and  the 
green  paper  curtain  at  the  window 
let  down,  to  shut  out  the  noise  and  dust ;  it 
was  quiet  there,  too. 

Kitty  stood  in  the  open  door,  her  face 
and  hands  clean,  hair  combed,  and  dress 
mended ;  stood  quite  still,  and  with  a  sober 
face,  unmindful,  for  once,  that  there  were 
butterflies  to  chase  and  flies  to  kill  all  around 

her.     In  the   only  comfortable  seat  in   the 
41 


42  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

room,  a  large  old-fashioned  arm-chair,  sat 
the  worn,  wasted  frame  of  Kitty's  father. 
There  was  a  look  of  hopeless  sadness  settled 
on  his  face.  Neither  Tip  nor  his  mother 
were  to  be  seen.  One  or  two  women  were 
moving  through  the  house,  with  quiet  steps, 
bringing  in  chairs  and  doing  little  thought- 
ful things  in  and  about  that  wonderfully 
orderly  room. 

On  the  table  was  that  which  told  the 
whole  story  of  this  unusual  stillness  and 
preparation.  It  was  a  pine  coffin,  very 
small  and  plain ;  and  in  it,  with  folded 
hands  and  brown  hair  rolled  smoothly  back 
from  his  baby  forehead,  little  Johnny  lay, 
asleep.  Somebody,  with  a  touch  of  tender- 
ness, had  placed  a  just  budding  rose  in  the 
tiny  white  hand,  and  baby  looked  very  sweet 
and  beautiful  in  his  narrow  bed.  Poor  little 
Johnny  !  his  had  been  a  sad,  neglected  baby- 
hood ;  many  weary  hours  had  he  spent  in 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  SIS  LAMP. 


43 


his  cradle,  receiving  only  cross  looks  from 
Kitty,  and  neglected  by  the  mother,  who, 
though  she  loved  Johnny,  and  even  because 
she  loved  him,  must  leave  him  to  work  for 
her  daily  bread.  But  it  was  all  over  now ; 
Johnny's  cries  would  never  disturb  them 
again ;  Johnny's  weary  little  body  rested 
quietly  in  its  coffin ;  Johnny's  precious  self 
was  gathered  in  the  Saviour's  arms. 

Tip  came  out  of  the  bedroom,  and  softly 
approached  the  coffin ;  his  hair,  too,  was 
partly  combed,  and  some  attempt  had  been 
made  to  put  his  ragged  clothes  in  order. 
His  heart  swelled,  and  the  tears  gathered  in 
his  eyes,  as  they  rested  on  the  baby. 

Tip  loved  his  little  brother,  and  though  he 
had  not  had  much  to  do  with  him,  yet  he 
had  this  much  to  comfort  him,  —  Johnny 
had  received  only  kindness  and  good-natured 
words  from  him,  which  was  more  than 
Kitty  could  say.  As  she  stood  there  hi  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

dooi>  it  seemed  to  her  that  every  time  she 
had  ever  said  cross,  naughty  words  to  the 
poor  baby,  or  turned  away  from  his  pitiful 
cry  for  comfort,  or  shook  his  little  helpless 
self,  came  back  to  her  now,  —  stood  all 
around  his  coffin,  and  looked  straight  at  her. 
Poor  Kitty  thought  if  he  could  only  come 
back  to  them  for  a  little  while,  she  would 
hold  him  in  her  arms  all  night,  without  a 
murmur. 

People  began  to  come  in  now  from  the 
lowly  houses  about  them,  and  fill  the  empty 
chairs.  Mrs.  Lewis  came  out  from  the  bed- 
room, and  sat  down  beside  the  arm-chair, 
thankful  that  her  tear-stained  face  and  swol- 
len eyes  were  hidden  by  the  thick  black  veil 
which  some  thoughtful  neighbor  had  sent  for 
her  use. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  dozen  or  more  people 
had  filled  up  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  little 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  46 

room,  and  Mr.  Holbrook  arose  from  his  seat 
at  the  coffin's  head. 

Tip  turned  quickly  at  the  first  sound  of  his 
voice,  and  listened  eagerly  while  he  read 
from  the  book  in  his  hand,  "  And  I  saw  the 
dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God." 
Listening  until  the  closing  sentence  was 
read,  "  And  there  shall  be  no  more  death  ; 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  moro  pain,  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away." 

Tip  had  never  paid  such  close  attention  to 
anything  in  his  life  as  he  did  to  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook's  words ;  after  that  they  were  very 
simple  and  plain  spoken,  so  that  a  child 
might  understand  them,  and  were  about 
heaven,  that  beautiful  city  of  which  Tip  had 
heard  and  thought  more  during  the  last  three 
weeks  than  he  ever  had  in  his  life  before. 
His  heart  had  been  in  a  constant  struggle 
with  Satan,  ever  since  that  morning  in  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Sabbath  school.  He  didn't  know  enough  to 
understand  that  it  was  Satan's  evil  voice 
which  was  constantly  persuading  him  that 
he  could  not  be  anybody,  that  he  was  only  a 
poor,  miserable,  ragged  boy,  with  nobody  to 
help  him,  nobody  to  show  him  what  to  do ; 
that  he  might  as  well  not  try  to  be  anything 
but  what  he  was ;  and  he  didn't  know  either 
that  the  other  voice  in  his  heart  which  strug- 
gled with  the  evil  counsel,  which  said  to 
him,  "  Other  boys  as  poor  and  ignorant  as 
you  are  have  reformed ;  that  Robert  did 
about  whom  the  teacher  told  you  ;  and  then 
if  you  don't  you  will  never  see  that  river 
nor  the  fountain,  nor  the  streets  of  gold, 
was  the  dear,  loving  voice  of  his  Redeemer. 
Now,  as  he  listened  to  Mr.  Holbrook,  and 
heard  how  Johnny,  little  Johnny,  whom  he 
loved,  had  surely  gone  up  there  to  be  with 
Christ  forever,  and  how  Jesus,  looking 
down  on  the  father  and  mother,  and  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HTS  LAMP.  'J 

children  who  were  left,  said  to  them,  4*J 
want  you,  too,  to  give  me  your  hearts, 
so  that  when  I  gather  my  jewels  I  may 
come  for  you."  The  weak,  struggling  re- 
solves in  his  heart  grew  strong,  and  he  said 
within  himself,  while  the  tears  fell  slowly 
down  his  cheeks,  "  I  will ;  I'll  begin  to-day." 

The  coffin-lid  was  screwed  down,  and 
Johnny's  baby-face  shut  out  from  them  for- 
ever. A  man  came  forward  and  took  the 
light  burden  in  his  arms,  and  bore  it  out  to 
the  wagon ;  down  the  narrow  street  they 
drove,  to  the  burial-ground,  which  was  not 
far  away.  They  laid  Johnny  down  to  sleep, 
under  the  shade  of  a  large  old  tree ;  and  the 
grass  waved  softly,  and  the  birds  sang  low, 
and  the  angels  surely  sang  in  heaven,  because 
another  little  form  was  numbered  among  the 
thousands  of  children  who  stand  "  around 
the  Throne." 

The  people  moved  slowly  from  the  grave ; 


48  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

all  but  Tip ;  he  didn't  want  to  leave  Johnny  ; 
he  wanted  to  follow  him,  and  he  didn't  know 
how.  Mr.  Holbrook  glanced  back  at  the 
boy  standing  there  alone,  paused  a  moment, 
then,  turning  back,  laid  his  hand  gently  on 
Tip's  shoulder. 

"  You  can  go  up  there,  too,  my  boy,  if  you 
will,"  he  said,  in  a  low,  kind  tone. 

Tip  looked  up  quickly,  then  down  again  , 
he  wanted  to  ask  how ;  what  he  should  do  ; 
but  his  voice  choked,  he  could  not  speak 
a  word ;  —  and  with  the  earnest  sentence, 
"God  bless  you,  my  little  friend,  and  lead 
you  to  himself,"  Mr.  Holbrook  turned  and 
left  him. 

Tip  wandered  away  into  the  woods  for  a 
little ;  when  he  returned,  the  earth  was 
heaped  up  fresh  and  black  over  the  new 
mound,  and  Johnny  was  left  underneath  it 
all  alone.  Tip  walked  around  it  slowly, 
trying  to  take  in  the  thought  that  the  baby 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

was  lying  there ;  that  they  should  never  see 
him  again  ;  trying,  a  moment  after,  to  take 
in  the  thought  that  he  was  not  there  at  all, 
but  had  gone  up  to  the  beautiful  world, 
which  the  hymn  told  about ;  then  he  thought 
of  the  chorus,  and  almost  felt  it,  "I  long, 
I  long,  I  long  to  be  there." 

Tip  had  heard  people  pray ;  he  had  been 
to  Sabbath  school  often  enough  to  catch  and 
remember  most  of  the  words  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer ;  he  knew  enough  of  God  to  under- 
stand that  he  could  hear  prayer,  and  that  his 
help  must  be  asked  if  one  wanted  to  get  to 
heaven.  He  hesitated  a  moment,  glanced 
half-fearfully  around  him,  —  no  one  was 
there,  no  one  but  himself,  and  Johnny,  lying 
low  at  his  feet,  and  God  looking  down  upon 
him,  —  presently  he  knelt  down  before  the 
little  grave,  and  began,  — 

"  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,  hallowed 
be  thy  name,  thy  kingdom  come "  then 


60  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

he  Btopped.  Tip  was  in  earnest  now  ;  he 
did  not  understand  that  prayer :  he  felt  as 
though  he  was  not  saying  what  he  meant? 
he  commenced  again,  — 

"  Oh,  Jesus,  I  want "  then  he  waited 

a  minute.  What  c.id  he  want ?  "I  want  to 
be  different ;  I'm  a  wicked  boy.  I  want  to 
go  where  Johnny  is  when  I  die ;  do  show 
me  how ! " 

Did  Jesus  ever  fail   to  hear  such  a  prayer 
as   that,  —  simple,   earnest,   every    word  of 
\tfeltf     Never — and  he  never  will. 

Tip  rose  up  from  that  spot,  feeling  that 
something  was  different.  Aye,  and  always 
would  be  different ;  the  Saviour  had  reached 
down  and  taken  hold  of  the  young  seeker's 
hand,  and  would  forever  after  lead  him  up 
toward  God. 


CHAPTER  V. 

'THT  WOBD   18   A  LAMP  TO  XT  FIUtT. 


Sabbath  morning  sun  awoke  Tip 
from  a  heavy  sleep.  He  lay  still  a 
few  moments,  thinking  who  he  was. 
Things  were  different  ;  he  was  not 
simply  Tip  Lewis,  a  ragged  little  street  boy, 
any  longer,  —  this  was  the  morning  when  he 
was  going  to  start  out  under  a  new  motto, 
with  Jesus  for  his  guide. 

He  was  going  to  Sabbath  school.  He 
had  not  been  since  the  morning  that  Miss 
Perry  had  taught  the  class,  and  told  the 

story,  which   was   to   be  a   blessing   to  him 
51 


t>  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP. 

through  all  his  future  life.  His  evil  spirit 
had  been  strong  upon  him  during  the  three 
Sabbath  mornings  that  had  passed  since  then, 
and  persuaded  him  to  stay  away  from  the 
school ;  but  this  morning  he  was  resolved 
to  go.  He  had  a  secret  hope  that  he  should 
see  Miss  Perry  again,  for  he  did  not  know 
that  she  was  hundred  of  miles  away  from 
that  village,  and  would  probably  never  be 
there  again  ;  all  he  knew  was,  that  a  gen- 
tleman had  brought  her  to  the  doo%r,  and 
introduced  her  to  the  superintendent  as 
Miss  Perry  ;  that  much  he  heard  as  he  sat 
gazing  at  them. 

This  morning  he  judged  by  the  sun,  that 
it  was  pretty  late,  yet  he  didn't  get  on  very 
fast  with  the-  business  of  dressing. ;  he  sat 
down  on  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  looked 
sorrowfully  at  his  jacket;  he  even  turned 
it  inside  out,  to  see  if  it  wouldn't  improve 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  53 

its  appearance ;  but  he  shook  his  head,  and 
speedily  turned  it  back  again. 

If  he  "  only  had  a  collar,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, —  "a  smooth  white  collar,  to  turn  down 
over  the  worn  out  edges,  —  it  would  make 
things  look  so  much  better."  But  that  was 
something  he  had  never  had  in  his  life  and 
he  put  on  the  old  ragged  brown  jacket  \cith 
a  sigh.  Then  he  put  on  his  shoes,  anu  took 
them  off  again  ;  the  question  was,  which 
looked  the  best,  —  shoes  which  showed  every 
one  of  his  toes  peeping  out  on  the  top,  01 
no  shoes  at  all.  Suddenly,  a  bright  idea 
struck  him, — if  his  feet  were  only  white 
and  clean,  he  thought  they  would  certainly 
look  much  better.  Down  he  went  to  the 
rickety  pump  in  the  back  yard,  and  face, 
hands,  and  feet  took  such  a  washing  as  they 
had  never  received  before ;  then  the  old 
comb  had  to  do  duty.  Tip  had  never  had 
such  a  time  getting  dressed ;  but,  some  way. 


54  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

he  felt  a  great  longing  this  morning  to  make 
himself  look  neatly ;  he  had  a  feeling  that 
it  was  ever  so  much  more  respectable  to  be 
neat  and  clean  than  it  was  to  go  looking 
as  he  had  always  done.  Still,  to  carry  a 
freshly-washed  face  and  hands,  and  smooth 
hair,  was  the  very  best  he  could  do  ;  and, 
if  he  had  but  known  it,  these  things  made 
a  great  improvement. 

He  made  his  way  half  shyly  into  the  mis- 
sion seat,  for  the  truth  was  he  did  not  know 
just  how  the  boys  would  receive  his  attempt 
at  respectability ;  but  he  had  no  trouble 
for  several  of  his  companions  had  seen  his 
face  when  he  took  his  last  look  into  that 
little  coffin  the  day  before,  and  they  felt 
sorry  for  him. 

No  Miss  Perry  appeared;  and  it  seemed, 
at  first,  that  the  mission  boys  were  to  have 
no  teacher.  It  was  a  warm  morning;  and 
the  visitor's  seat  was  vacant. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H1B  LAMP.  55 

But  there  was  at  last  a  great  nudging  of 
elbows,  and  whispers  of  "  Look  out  now !  " 
"  We're  in  a  scrape  !  "  "  No  chance  for  fun 
to-day ! "  And  only  Tip's  eyes  looked  glad 
when  Mr.  Holbrook  halted  before  their 
class,  with,  "  Good  morning,  boys."  Then, 
"  Good  morning,  Edward,  I  am  glad  to  see 
you  here  to-day  ;  "  and  the  minister  actually 
held  out  his  hand  to  Tip.  Mr.  Holbrook 
never  called  him  Tip  ;  he  had  asked  him  one 
morning  what  his  real  name  was,  and  since 
then  had  spoken  it  "  Edward,"  in  clear,  plain 
tones. 

It  was  a  restless,  wearying  class.  It  re- 
quired all  Mr.  Holbrook's  wits  and  wisdom 
to  keep  them  in  any  sort  of  order,  to  gain 
any  part  of  their  attention.  Yet  it  was  not 
as  bad  as  usual ;  partly  because  the  minister 
knew  how,  if  anybody  did,  to  teach  just  such 
boys,  and  partly  because  Tip,  hitherto  the 
spirit  of  all  the  mischief  there,  never  took  hi» 


56  TIP  LEW  IB  AND  HIS  LAMP 

eyes  from  the  teacher's  face.  Mr.  Holbrook 
watched  his  close  attention,  and  took  GOUT 
age.  When  the  other  scholars  passed  out, 
he  laid  his  hand  on  Tip's  arm,  with  the 
words,  "  You  have  been  a  good  listener 
to-day,  Edward.  Did  you  understand  the 
story  I  told,  of  the  boy  who  started  on  a 
journey  to  the  Holy  Land  ?  " 

"  Some  of  it  I   did ;    you  meant   that  he 
started  for  heaven." 

"You  understand   it,    I   see      Don't  you 
want  to  take  that  journey  ?  " 

"  I  mean  to,  sir." 

"  Help  thou  mine  unbelief,"  was  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook's  prayer,  just  then  ;  he  had  hoped  for, 
longed  for,  prayed  for  these  boys,  especially 
for  this  one  since  the  day  before ;  yet  he 
vras  astonished  when  he  received  the  firm 
prompt  answer,  "  I  mean  to,  sir."  Aston 
ished,  as  too  many  are,  that  his  prayer  was 
heard. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  57 

"  Have  you  started,  my  boy  ?  "  he  asked, 
speaking  with  a  little  tremble  in  his  voice. 

"Yes,  sir,  I've  tried;  I  told  God  last 
night  that  I  would,  but  I  don't  much  know 
how.' 

"  You  want  a  lamp,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  A  what,  sir  ?  " 

"  A  lamp.  You  remember  in  the  story 
*;he  boy  found  dark  places  every  little  way ; 
then  he  took  out  his  lamp  so  he  couldn't  lose 
the  road.  Don't  you  need  it  ?  " 

"  I  want  some  help,  but  I  don't  know  as  a 
lamp  would  do  me  any  good." 

"  Ah,  yes ;  the  one  I  mean  will  surely 
help  you,  if  you  give  it  a  chance."  Mr. 
Holbrook  took  from  his  pocket  a  small,  red- 
covered  book,  and  held  it  up.  "  Do  you 
know  what  book  this  is  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  It's  a  Bible,  ain't  it  ?  " 

"  Yes.    Have  you  ever  read  in  the  Bible  ?  " 

"  Some,  at  school." 


63  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  You  know,  then,  that  God  told  men  just 
what  to  say,  and  they  wrote  it  here,  so  you 
se'e  that  makes  it  God's  words  ;  that  is  what 
we  call  it  sometimes,  —  the  word  of  God. 
Now  let  me  show  you  something."  He 
turned  the  leaves  rapidly,  then  pointed  with 
his  finger  to  a  verse  ;  and  Tip  read,  —  "  Thy 
word  is  a  lamp  to  my  feet." 

"  Oh  !  "  he  said,  with  a  bright  look  ;  "  that 
is  the  kind  of  lamp  you  mean." 

"  That  is  it ;  and,  my  boy,  I  want  you  to 
take  this  for  your  lamp.  There  is  no  place 
on  the  whole  road  so  dark  but  that  it  can 
light  you  through,  if  you  try  it.  When  you 
don't  understand  it,  there  is  always  Jesus  to 
go  to,  you  know."  And,  taking  out  his  pen- 
cil, Mr.  Holbrook  wrote  on  the  fly-leaf,  in 
plain,  round  letters,  "•  Edward  Lewis."  Then 
handing  the  book  to  him,  with  a  bow  and 
smile,  the  minister  turned  away. 

Tip  walked  out  of  the  school,  and  down 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  59 

the  road,  holding  his  treasure  closely.  Such 
a  queer,  new  feeling  possessed  him.  Things 
were  really  to  be  different,  then.  The  minis- 
ter had  talked  with  him,  had  shaken  hands 
with  him,  and  given  him  a  Bible.  And  here 
he  was  walking  quietly  away  from  the 
school,  all  alone,  instead  of  leading  a  troop 
of  noisy  boys,  intent  on  mischief. 

"  Oh,  Tip  Lewis !  "  he  said  to  himself,  as 
he  hugged  his  book,  "  I  don't  know  but  you 
will  be  somebody,  after  all ;  you  mean  to  try 
with  all  your  might,  don't  you  ?  and  you've 
got  a  lamp  now !  " 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"I    WILL  INSTRUCT    THEE,    AND    TEACH  THEE    IN  THE  WAT 

WHICH    THOU    SHALT  GO.       I    WILL    GUIDE    THKE    WITH    MINB 
KTE. '' 


HY,"  said  Tip,  as  he  sat  on  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  turning  over  the 
leaves  of  his  Bible ;  "  why,  that  is 
the  very  thing  I  want.  *  I  will 
instruct  thee,  and  teach  thee  in  the  way 
which  thou  shalt  go.'  Yes,  that's  exactly 
it.  I  want  to  begin  to-day,  and  do  every 
fea^le  thing  so  different  from  what  I  ever 
did  before,  that  nobody  will  know  me. 
Now,  if  he'll  help  me,  I  can  do  it.  I'll 
learn  that  verse." 

eo 


TIP  LEWI 8  AND  HIS  LAMP.  61 

The  vorse  was  repeated  many  times  over, 
for  Tip  was  not  used  to  study.  While  he 
was  busy  thus,  the  Spirit  of  God  put  another 
thought  into  his  heart. 

"  I  must  ask  Christ  to  help  me  now,"  he 
said,  with  reverent  face  ;  and  kneeling  down 
he  made  known  his  wants  in  very  simple 
words,  and  in  that  plain,  direct  way  which 
God  loves.  Then- he  went  down  stairs,  pre- 
pared for  whatever  should  befall  him  that 
day. 

Kitty  was  up,  and  rattling  the  kitchen 
stove. 

"  Kitty,  what's  to  pay  ?  "  Tip  asked,  as  he 
appeared  in  the  door. 

"  What's  to  pay  with  you  ?  How  did  you 
happen  to  get  up  ?  "  Receiving  no  answer 
to  this,  she  continued,  "  The  old  cat  is  to 
pay,  —  everywhere,  —  and  always  is  !  These 
nasty  shavings  are  soaked  through  and 
through,  and  the  wo^a  is  rotten,  and  there 


62  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

isn't  any  wood,  —  anyway,  —  and  I  can't 
make  this  fire  burn  to  save  ray  life.  Mother 
is  sick  in  bed,  —  can't  sit  up  at  all.  She 
told  me  to  make  a  cup  of  tea  for  father,  and 
things  look  as  if  it  would  get  made  some 
time  next  month." 

Kitty  was  only  twelve  years  old,  but,  like 
most  of  those  children  who  have  been  left  to 
bring  themselves  up,  and  pick  up  wisdom 
and  wickedness  wherever  they  are  to  be 
found,  she  was  wonderfully  old  in  mind  ; 
and  was  so  used  to  grumbling  and  snarling, 
that  she  could  do  it  very  rapidly. 

"  Oh  ! "  said  Tip  to  himself,  drawing  a 
long  breath,  "  what  a  place  for  me  to  com- 
mence in ! "  Then  he  came  bravely  to  Kit- 
ty's aid. 

"  See  here,  Kitty,  don't  made  such  a  rat- 
tling ;  you'll  wake  father.  I  can  make  this 
fire  in  a  hurry.  T  have  made  one  out  of 
next  to  nothing,  lots  of  times ;  you  just  put 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  63 

some  water  in  the  tearkettle,  and  we'll  have 
a  cup  of  tea  in  a  jiff." 

Kitty  stood  still  in  her  astonishment,  and 
watched  him  while  he  took  out  the  round 
green  sticks  that  she  had  put  in,  laid  in  bits 
of  dry  paper,  and  bits  of  sticks,  —  laid  them 
in  such  a  careless,  uneven  way,  that  it 
seemed  to  her  they  would  never  burn  in 
the  world ;  only  he  speedily  proved  that 
they  would,  by  setting  fire  to  the  whole, 
and  they  crackled  and  snapped  in  a  most 
determined  manner,  and  finally  roared  out- 
right. 

Certainly,  Kitty  had  never  been  so  much 
astonished  in  her  life.  First,  because  that 
rubbish  in  the  stove  had  been  made  to  be- 
come such  a  positive  fire ;  secondly,  thai 
Tip  had  actually  set  to  work  without  being 
coaxed  or  scolded,  and  made  a  fire ! 

There  was  a  queer,  new  feeling  about  it 
all,  to  Tip  himself ;  for,  strange  OH  it  may 


64 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


seem,  so  entirely  selfish  had  been  this  boy's 
life  that  this  was  actually  the  first  time  he 
had  ever,  of  his  own  free  will,  done  anything 
to  help  the  family  at  home.  His  spirits  rose 
with  the  effort. 

"  Come,  Kitty,"  he  said,  briskly,  "  here's 
your  fire ;  now  let's  fly  round  and  get  father 
and  mother  some  breakfast.  Say,  do  you 
know  how  to  make  toast  ?  " 

"  It's  likely  I  do,"  Kitty  answered,  shortly. 
"If  you  had  roasted  your  face,  and  burnt 
your  fingers,  as  often  as  I  have,  making  it  for 
father,  I  guess  you  would  know  how." 

"  Well,  now,  just  suppose  we  make  two 
slices,  —  one  for  mother  and  one  for  father ; 
and  two  cups  of  tea.  My !  you  and  I  will 
be  jolly  housekeepers,  Kitty." 

"  Humph ! "  said  Kitty,  contemptuously. 

You  see  she  wasn't  in  the  least  used  to 
being  good-natured,  and  it  took  a  great  deal 
of  coaxing  to  make  her  give  other  than  short, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

sharp  answers,  to  all  that  was  said.  But,  for 
all  that,  she  went  to  work,  after  Tip  had 
poured  some  water  in  the  dingy  little  tea- 
kettle and  set  it  over  the  fire,  cutting  the 
two  slices  of  bread,  and  getting  them  ready 
to  toast  when  there  should  be  any  coals. 

Tip,  meantime,  hunted  among  the  confu- 
sion of  all  sorts  of  things  in  the  cupboard, 
for  two  clean  plates  and  cups. 

"  You're  taken  with  an  awful  clean  fit, 
seems  to  me,"  Kitty  said,  as  she  stood 
watching  him  while  he  hunted  for  a  cloth, 
then  carefully  wiped  off  the  plates. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Tip,  good-naturedly  ; 
"  I'm  going  to  try  it  for  a  spell,  and  find  out 
how  things  look  after  they  are  washed." 

Altogether  it  was  a  queer  morning  to  both 
of  them ;  and  each  felt  a  touch  of  triumph 
when  at  last  the  toast  lay  brown  and  nice,  a 
slice  on  each  plate,  and  the  hot  tea  poured 
into  the  cups,  smelled  fresh  and  fragrant. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

The  two  children  went  softly  to  the  bedroom 
door  in  time  to  hear  their  father  say,  — 

"  What  makes  you  try  to  get  up,  if  your 
head  is  so  bad  ?  " 

"  Oh,  what  makes  me !  What  else  is 
there  for  me  to  do  ?  The  young  ones  are 
both  up,  and  if  I  find  the  roof  left  on  the 
house  I'll  be  thankful.  I  never  knew  them 
to  stay  together  five  minutes  without  having 
a  battle." 

At  almost  any  other  time  in  her  life  these 
words  would  have  made  Kitty  very  angry  ; 
but  this  morning  she  was  intent  on  not  let- 
ting her  tea  spill  over  on  the  toast,  and  so 
paid  very  little  attention  to  them. 

Tip  marched  boldly  in  with  his  dish,  Kitty 
following. 

"Lie  still,  mother,  till  you  get  some  of 
our  tea  and  toast,  and  1  reckon  it  will  cure 
you." 

Mrs.   Lewis  raised   herself  on  one  elbow, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  67 

saw  the  beautiful  brown  slices,  caught  a 
whiff  of  the  fragrant  tea,  then  asked,  won- 
deringly,  — 

"  Who's  here  ?  " 

"Kitty  and  me,"  Tip  made  answer,  proud- 
ly and  promptly. 

Something  very  like  a  smile  gathered  on 
Mrs.  Lewis's  worn,  fretful  face. 

"  Well,  now,"  she  said,  "  if  I  ain't  beat  — 
it's  the  last  thing  on  earth  I  ever  expected 
you  to  do." 

What  spell  had  come  over  Tip  ?  Break- 
fast was  a  great  success.  After  it  was  over 
he  found  a  great  many  things  to  do,  —  the 
rusty  old  axe  was  hunted,  up,  and  some  hard 
knots  made  to  become  very  respectable- 
looking  sticks  of  wood,  which  he  piled  in 
the  wood-box.  Kitty,  under  tho  influence 
of  his  strange  behavior,  washed  the  dishes, 
and  even  got  out  the  broom  and  swept  a 
little. 


68  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

Altogether,  that  was  a  day  long  to  be  re- 
membered by  Tip  ;  a  day  in  which  he  began 
his  life  afresh.  He  made  some  mistakes  ; 
for  he  fancied,  in  his  ignorance,  that  the 
struggle  was  over  —  that  he  had  only  to  go 
forward  joyfully  over  a  pleasant  road. 

He  found  out  his  mistake  ;  he  discovered 
that  Satan  had  not  by  any  means  given  him 
up  ;  that  he  must  yet  fight  many  hard,  hard 
battles. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

"  FltAB   KOT,    FOB   I   HAVM   BKDKKXKD   THM." 

61  HEY  must  have   had  an   earthquake 
down    at     Lewis's    this    morning," 


1  Howard   Minturn   said   to   the  boys 
who     were     gathered    around     the 
school-room  door. 

"  The  first  bell  has  not  rung  yet,  and  there 
eomes  Tip  up  the  hill." 

Up  the  hill  came  Tip,  sure  enough,  with 
a  firm,  resolute  step.  The  summer  vacation 
was  over.  The  fall  term  was  to  commence 
this  morning,  and  among  the  things  which 

Tip   had   resolved   to   do    was  this   one,   to 
69 


70 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


come  steadily  and  promptly  to  school  during 
the  term,  which  was  something  that  he  had 
never  done  in  his  life.  The  public  school 
was  the  best  one  in  the  village,  so  he  had 
the  best  boys  in  town  for  school  companions, 
as  well  as  some  of  the  worst. 

"  Hallo,  Tip  !  "  said  Bob  Turner,  coming 
partly  down  the  hill  to  meet  him  ;  "  how  are 
you,  old  fellow  ?  " 

Bob  had  been  away  during  most  of  the 
vacation,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  changes 
which  there  had  been  in  his  absence.  Tip 
winced  a  little  at  his  greeting  ;  shivered  a 
little  at  the  thought  of  the  temptation  which 
Bob  would  be  to  him. 

The  two  had  been  linked  together  all  their 
lives  in  every  form  of  mischief  and  wrong,  — 
they  seemed  almost  a  part  of  each  other,  — 
at  least  they  had  seemed  so  until  within 
these  few  weeks.  Now,  Tip  felt  rather  than 
knew  how  far  separated  they  must  be. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  71 

The  bell  rang,  and  the  boys  jostled  and 
tumbled  against  each  other  to  their  seats. 

Bob  Turner,  as  usual,  seated  himself  be- 
aide  Tip ;  but  then  Bob  only  came  to  school 
about  two  forenoons  in  a  week,  so  perhaps 
they  might  get  along. 

When  the  Bible  reading  commenced,  Tip 
hesitated,  and  his  face  flushed ;  he  had  never 
owned  a  Bible  to  read  from  before,  but  this 
morning  his  new  one  lay  in  his  pocket, — 
the  question  was,  Had  he  courage  to  take 
it  out?  "What  would  the  boys  think? 
What  would  they  say  ?  How  should  he 
answer  them  ?  " 

He  began  to  think  he  would  wait  until  to- 
morrow morning;  then  he  grew  hot  and 
ashamed  as  he  saw  that  he  was  already  try- 
ing to  hide  his  colors.  Suddenly  he  drew 
out  his  Bible,  and  began  very  hurriedly  to 
turn  the  leaves. 

Bob    heard    the    rustling,    and    glancing 


T2  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS   LAMP. 

around  puckered  his  lips  as  if  he  were 
going  to  whistle,  and  snatching  the  book, 
read  the  name  which  Mr.  Holbrook  had 
written  therein ;  then  he  whispered,  "  You 
don't  say  so  !  When  did  we  steal  a  Bible, 
and  turn  saint  ?  " 

The  blood  growing  hotter  and  redder  in 
Tip's  cheeks,  was  his  only  answer  ;  but  he 
felt  that  his  temptation  had  begun.  The 
next  thing  was  to  read ;  when  he  had  finally 
found  the  place,  even  though  there  were 

more  than  fifty  voices  reading   those   same 

• 
words,    yet    poor    Tip    imagined    that    his 

would  be  louder  than  all  the  rest,  and  he 
choked  and  coughed,  and  made  more  than 
one  trial  before  he  forced  his  voice  to  join, 
even  in  a  whisper,  at  the  words,  "  And  they 
clothed  him  with  purple,  and  platted  a  crown 
of  thorns  and  put  it  about  his  head." 
It  did  not  help  him,  in  his  reading,  that 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS   LAMP.  T3 

Bob  made  his  lips  move  with  the  rest,  but 
said,  loud  enough  for  him  to  hear,  — 

"  The  man  in  the  m*«n 
Came  down  too  seen," 

and  continued  to  repeat  some  senseless  or 
wicked  rhymes,  through  the  reading  of  the 
beautiful  chapter. 

How  thankfully  Tip  bowed  his  head  that 
morning  ;  his  heart  had  taken  in  some  of  the 
sweet  words.  That  sacred  head  had  been 
crowned  with  thorns,  indeed,  —  but  he  knew 
it  was  crowned  with  glory  now,  —  and  he 
knew  that  Christ  had  suffered  and  died  for 
him !  He  joined  with  his  whole  heart  in 
Mr.  Burro ws's  prayer ;  and  though  Bob 
pulled  his  hair  and  tickled  his  foot  and 
stepped  on  his  toes,  the  bowed  head  was  not 
lifted,  and  his  spirit  gathered  strength. 

But  Tip  never  forgot  the  trials  of  that  day, 
nor  the  hard  work  which  he  had  to  endure 
them.  Bob  was,  as  usual,  overflowing  with 


74  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

mischief,  and  failing  in  finding  the  willing 
helper  which  he  had  expected  in  his  old  com 
panion,  took  revenge  in  aiming  a  great  many 
of  his  pranks  at  him.  Such  senseless,  silly 
things  as  he  did,  to  annoy !  Tip  spread  his 
slate  over  with  a  long  row  of  figures  which 
he  earnestly  tried  to  add,  and  having  toiled 
slowly  up  the  first  two  columns,  Bob's  wet 
finger  was  slyly  drawn  across  it,  and  no 
trace  of  the  answer  so  hardly  earned  ap- 
peared. 

Then,  too,  he  had  his  own  heart  to  strug- 
gle against ;  he  was  so  used  to  whispering  to 
this  and  that  boy  seated  near  him,  to  eating 
apples  when  the  teacher's  back  was  turned, 
to  making  an  ugly-looking  picture  on  a  piece 
of  paper  and  pinning  on  the  back  of  a  small 
boy  before  him.  He  was  so  unused  to  sitting 
still,  and  trying  to  study. 

What  hard  work  it  was  to  study,  any  way ! 
[t  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  never  get 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  ^AMP.  76 


that  spelling-lesson  in  the  world  ;  the  harder 
he  tried,  the  more  bewildered  he  grew  ;  a 
dozen  times  he  spelled  the  two  words,  re- 
ceive and  believe,  standing  so  closely  togeth- 
er, each  time  sure  he  was  right,  and  each 
time  discovering  that  the  i's  and  e's  must 
change  places  ;  he  grew  utterly  provoked 
and  disheartened,  and  would  have  fairly 
cried,  had  not  Bob  been  beside  him  to  see 
the  tears,  and  grow  merry  over  them. 

Finally,  he  lost  all  patience  with  Bob,  and 
turning  fiercely  to  him,  after  he  had  for  the 
third  time  pitched  the  greasy  old  spelling- 
book  upside  down  on  the  floor,  said,  — 

"  Look  here,  now,  if  you  come  that  thing 
again,  I'll  pitch  you  out  the  window  quicker 
than  wink  !  " 

"  Edward  Lewis  marked  for  whispering,'' 
said  Mr.  Burrows.  "Edward,  you  have 
commenced  the  term  as  usual,  I  see  ;  the 
first  one  marked  for  bad  conduct." 


76  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

How  Tip's  ears  burned  !  How  untrue  it 
was !  He  had  not  commenced  this  term  as 
usual ;  how  differently  he  had  tried  to  com- 
mence it,  only  he  and  God  knew.  And  now 
to  fail  thus  early  in  the  day !  His  head 
seemed  to  spin  and  his  brain  reel ;  he  bowed 
himself  on  the  seat  again,  but  Bob's  head 
went  down  promptly,  and  he  whispered,  — 

"  Little  Po  Pe«p  has  lost  her  «he«p " 

How  often  Tip  had  thought  such  things  as 
these  so  very  funny  that  he  could  not  possi- 
bly help  laughing ;  how  silly  and  meaning- 
less, —  yes,  and  cruel,  —  did  they  seem  to 
him  now !  Oh,  Satan  was  struggling  for  Tip 
to-day  :  he  was  reaping  the  fruits  of  long 
weeks  -*pent  in  evil  company  and  folly. 

He  'ooked  over  t»  'he  back  seats  where 
sat  H  <vard  Mintur  and  Ellis  Holbrook, 
hard  at  vork  on  then  Igebra  lesson,  nobody 
thinking  I  such  a  ihi  .<_:  as  disturbing  them  ; 


Tit*  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 


77 


and,  as  he  looked,  sighed  heavily.  If  he  had 
only  gained  such  a  place  as  they  had  in  the 
school,  how  easily  he  could  work  to-day. 
They  were  very  little  older  than  he,  —  yet 
here  he  was  trying  to  do  an  example  in  addi- 
tion, doing  it  over  four  times  before  it  was 
right,  —  and  they  were  at  the  head  of  the 
class  in  algebra.  If  he  could  only  jump  to 
where  they  were,  and  go  on  with  them ! 
And  the  hopelessness  of  this  thought  made 
his  spelling-lesson  seem  harder  :  so  it  was  no 
wonder,  when  the  class  formed,  and  he  took 
his  old  place  at  the  foot,  that  he  stayed 
there,  and  spelled  believe  ei  after  all ;  no- 
body was  surprised,  but  nobody  knew  how 
very,  very  hard  he  had  tried: 

The  long  day,  crowded  full  of  trouble  and 
temptation  to  poor  Tip,  wore  away.  At 
recess  he  wandered  off  by  himself,  trying 
hard  to  get  back  some  of  the  strong,  firm 
hopes  of  the  morning. 


78  TIP  LEWIS  AND  ma  LAMP. 

One  more  sharp  trial  was  in  store  for  him. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  afterooon  Bob's 
fun  took  the  form  of  paper  balls,  which,  at 
^very  turn  of  Mr.  Burrows's  back,  spun 
through  the  room  in  all  directions  ;  two  or 
three  of  the  smaller  scholars  joined  him,  and 
a  regular  fire  of  balls  was  kept  up.  The 
boys  complained — Mr.  Burrows  scolded. 

At  last  he  spoke  this  short,  prompt  sen- 
tence :  "  The  next  boy  I  catch  throwing 
paper,  or  anything  else,  in  this  room  to- 
day, I  shall  punish  severely ;  and  I  shall 
expect  any  scholar  who  sees  anything  of  this 
kind  going  on  to  inform  me." 

Not  five  minutes  after  that  Mr.  Burrows 
bent  over  his  desk  in  search  of  something 
within,  when  —  whisk !  went  the  largest 
paper  ball  that  had  been  thrown  that  day, 
and  landed  on  the  teacher's  forehead.  Some 
of  the  scholars  laughed,  some  looked  grave 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  79 

and  startled,  for  Mr.  Burrows  was  a  man 
who  always  meant  what  he  said. 

"  Does  any  one  know  who  threw  that 
ball  ?  "  he  asked,  closing  his  desk  and  speak- 
ing in  a  calm,  steady  tone. 

No  reply,  —  silence  for  a  minute.  Then, 
"Ellis  Holbrook,  do  you  know  who  threw 
that  ball  of  paper  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Very  well ;  I  am  waiting  to  be  told." 

"  Tip  Lewis  threw  it,  sir." 

This  was  a  little  too  much  for  Tip.  The 
first  time  in  his  life  that  he  had  ever  been  in 
school  all  day  without  throwing  one,  to  be 
so  accused.  He  sprang  up  in  his  seat  with 
fire  in  his  eyes, — 

"  I  didn't !  "  he  almost  screamed.  "  He 
knowfc  I  didn't ;  it  is  a  mean,  wicked  lie  !  " 

"  Sit  down  ;  "  said  Mr.  Burrows.  "  Ellis, 
did  you  see  him  throw  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did." 


80 


TIP  LEWI 8  AND  BIS  LAMP. 


Mr.  Burrows  turned  to  Tip.  "  Edward, 
come  here." 

Tip  was  still  standing. 

"  Say  you  won't,"  whispered  Bob.  "  Say 
you  won't  stir  a  step  for  the  old  fellow.  If 
he  goes  to  make  you  we'll  see  who'll  beat." 

But  the  command  was  repeated,  and  Tip 
went  forward,  fixing  his  steady  eyes  on  Mr. 
Burrows  as  he  spoke. 

"  Mr.  Burrows,  as  sure  as  I  live,  I  did  not 
throw  that  paper  ball." 

And  yet  —  poor  Tip !  —  he  knew  he  would 
not  be  believed  ;  he  knew  his  word  could 
not  be  trusted  ;  he  knew  he  had  often  stood 
there  and  as  boldly  declared  what  was  not 
true,  and  what  had  been  proved  in  a  few 
minutes  to  be  false. 

No,  nobody  believed  Tip  He  had  earned, 
among  other  things  in  the  school,  the  name 
of  hardly  ever  speaking  the  truth ;  and  now 
he  must  suffer  for  it.  So  he  stood  still  and 


TIP  LEWI8  AND  BIS  LAMP.  81 

received  the  swift,  hard  blows  of  the  ruler 
on  his  hands ;  stood  without  a  tear  or  a 
promise.  Mr.  Burrows  had  not  a  doubt  of 
his  guilt,  for  had  not  Ellis  Holbrook,  whose 
word  was  law  in  the  school,  said  he  saw  the 
mischief  done  ?  and  did  not  Tip  always  deny 
all  knowledge  of  such  matters  until  made  to 
own  them  ? 

Still,  this  time  the  boy  resolutely  refused 
to  confess  that  he  had  thrown  a  bit  of  paper 
that  day,  and  went  back  to  his  seat  with 
smarting  hands  and  the  stern  words  of  his 
teacher  ringing  in  his  ears. 

What  a  heavy,  bitter  heart  the  poor  boy 
carried  out  from  the  school-room  that  after- 
noon ;  he  felt  as  though  he  almost  hated 
every  scholar  there ;  quite  hated  Ellis  Hol- 
brook. 

Mr.  Burrows,  catching  a  glimpse  of  hia 
face,  said  to  one  of  the  other  teachers,  "  That 
boy  grows  sullen ;  with  all  the  rest,  his 


82  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP, 

good-nature  was  the  only  good  thing  which 
he  had  about  him,  and  he  is  losing  that." 

Tip  heard  him,  and  felt  that  it  was  true. 
He  had  been  punished  many  a  time  before, 
and  taken  it  with  the  most  provoking  good 
humor.  But  to-day  it  was  different ;  to-day, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  had  received 
a  punishment  which  he  did  not  deserve  ;  this 
day  of  all  others,  in  which  he  had  tried 
with  all  his  heart  to  do  right. 

"  Why  didn't  you  hold  on,  you  simple- 
ton ?  "  Bob  asked.  "  Never  saw  you  get  up 
so  much  pluck  in  my  life.  What  made  you 
back  out,  and  be  whipped  like  a  baby  ? " 

"  Why  didn't  you  own  that  you  threw  that 
plaguey  paper  ball,  and  not  sit  there  like  a 
coward,  and  see  me  take  your  whipping  ?  " 

"  1  own  it,  that's  a  good  one !  Ton  honor. 
Tip,  didn't  you  throw  that  ball  ?  I  thought 
you  did ;  1  was  aiming  one  at  Ellis  Hoi- 
brook's  head  just  then,  and  I  didn't  see  what 


So  b*  stood  (till  and  received  the  swift,  hard  blows  of  the  ruler."  —  P«f  t  „.. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  88 

was  going  on  behind  me.  Didn't  you  throw 
it,  honor  bright  ?  " 

"  No,  I  didn't ;  and  I'll  throw  you  if  you 
say  so  again." 

And  Tip  turned  suddenly  in  the  opposite 
direction,  but  Satan  still  walked  with  him. 

"  It's  no  use,"  said  this  evil  spirit,  speak- 
ing out  boldly.  "  It's  no  use ;  don't  you  see 
it  isn't  ?  You  might  as  well  give  it  up  first 
as  last ;  the  boys  and  the  teacher,  and  every 
one,  think  you're  nothing  in  the  world  but  a 
wicked  young  scamp,  and  you"  never  can  be 
anything  else.  You've  been  humbugging 
yourself  these  four  weeks,  making  believe 
you  had  a  great  Friend  to  help  you  ;  why 
hasn't  he  helped  you  to-day  ?  You've  tried 
your  best  all  day  long,  and  he  knows  you 
have ;  yet  you  never  had  such  a  hard  day 
in  your  life.  If  he  cares  anything  at  all 
about  you,  why  didn't  he  help  you  to-day  1 
you  asked  him  to." 


84  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Tip  sat  down  on  a  log  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  and  gave  himself  up  for  a  little  to 
Satan's  guidance,  and  the  wicked  voice  went 
on,  — 

"Now,  you  see,  you've  been  cheated. 
You've  tried  hard  for  a  whole  month  to  be 
somebody,  and  no  one  thinks  any  more  of 
you  than  they  did  before,  and  never  will. 
Your  mother  scolds  just  as  much,  and  your 
home  looks  just  as  dismal,  and  Kitty  is  just 
as  hateful,  and  the  respectable  boys  in  the 
village  have  nothing  to  do  with  you ;  you 
might  just  as  well  lounge  around  and  have 
a  good  time.  Nobody  expects  you  to  be' 
good,  or*  will  let  you,  when  you  want  to 
be." 

Softly  there  came  another  voice  knocking 
at  Tip's  heart.  At  first  he  would  not  notice 
it,  but  it  would  be  heard. 

"  What  of  all  that  ? "  it  said ;  "  suppose 
nobody  cares  for  you,  or  helps  you  here. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  85 

Jesus  died,  you  know,  and  he  is  y  ^ur  friend ; 
you  know  that  is  not  a  humbug ;  you  know 
he  has  heard  you  when  you  knelt  down  and 
prayed.  He  has  helped  you.  Then  there's 
heaven,  where  all  the  beauty  is,  and  he  has 
promised  to  take  you  —  yes,  you  —  there  by 
and  by !  Oh,  you  must  not  complain  because 
people  won't  believe  that  such  a  bad  boy 
as  you  have  been  has  grown  good  so  soon. 
Christ  knows  about  it,  so  it's  all  right ;  just 
keep  on  trying,  and  one  of  these  days  folks 
will  see  that  you  mean  it ;  they  will  —  God 
has  promised.  He  has  given  you  a  lamp  to 
light  you.  Why  have  not  you  looked  at  it 
aU  this  day  ?  " 

"  Oh ! "  said  Tip,  "  I  can't ;  I  can't  be  a 
Christian  !  I  have  not  done  right  nor  felt 
right  to-day.  I  almost  hate  the  boys,  and 
Mr.  Burrows  too.  I  don't  know  what  to 
do." 

"  Go  on  home,"   said    Satan.     "  Let  the 


86  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

lamp  and  these  new  notions  and  all  go! 
Christ  don't  care  anything  about  you ;  such 
a  miserable,  wicked,  story-telling  boy  as  you 
have  been,  do  you  expect  him  to  notice 
Vouf" 

But  Tip's  hand  was  in  his  pocket,  resting 
on  his  lamp,  as  he  had  learned  to  call  it ; 
and  the  low,  sweet  voice  in  his  heart  was 
urging  him  to  let  its  light  shine.  He  drew 
it  out,  and  turned  the  leaves,  and  the  same 
dear  Helper  stopped  his  eyes  at  the  words, 
"  Fear  not,  for  I  have  redeemed  thee ;  I  have 
called  thee  by  thy  name ;  thou  art  mine." 

Then  came  hot,  thankful  tears.  Oh,  pre- 
cious words,  sinking  right  into  the  torn, 
troubled  heart.  Christ  the  Redeemer  had 
called  him  by  his  name !  He  was  —  yes,  he 
would  be  his!  He  glanced  around.  No- 
body was  to  be  seen  ;  he  was  sitting  in  the 
hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  under  the 
shade  of  a  low  branching  tree.  And  there 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  87 

he  knelt  down  to  pray  ;  and  Satan  drew  liim- 
self  away,  for  the  spot  around  that  kneeling 
boy  was  holy  ground.  Tip's  soul  had  gained 
the  victory. 


CHAPTER  VIH. 

FREELT  TK  H^VS  RECEIVED,  FRKKLT  oiv»." 


HETHER  Tip  felt  it  or  not,  there 
were   some   changes   in   his   home. 
Mrs.    Lewis,   though   worried    and 
hurried  and  cross  enough,  still  was 
not  so  much:  so  as  she  had  been. 

The  house  was  quieter,  there  was  no  era 
die  to  rock,  there  were  no  baby-footsteps 
to  follow  and  keep  out  of  danger  ;  she  had 
more  time  for  sewing.  Yet  this  very  thing, 
the  missing  of  the  clinging  arms  about  her 
neck,  sometimes  made  her  heavy  heart  vent 

itself  in  short,  sharp  words. 
88 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  .LAMP. 

But  Tip  had  astonished  the  family  at 
home,  —  it  didn't  require  wonderful  changes 
to  do  it,  —  rather  the  change  which  they  saw 
in  him  seemed  wonderful. 

The  fire  which  she  found  ready  made  in 
the  morning,  the  full  pail  of  fresh  water,  the 
box  filled  with  wood,  were  all  so  many  drops 
of  honey  to  the  tired  mother's  heart.  The 
awkward  pat  of  his  father's  pillow,  which 
Tip  now  and  then  gave  as  he  lingered  tc 
ask  how  he  was,  seemed  so  new  and  delight- 
ful to  that  neglected  father's  heart,  that  he 
lay  on  his  hard  bed  and  thought  of  it  much 
all  day. 

Tip  got  on  better  at  home  than  anywhere 
else ;  he  had  not  so  many  temptations.  He 
had  been  such  a  lawless,  reckless  boy,  that 
they  had  all  learned  to  leave  him  very  much 
to  himself,  and  as  not  a  great  deal  of  his 
time  was  spent  there,  his  trials  at  home  were 
not  many.  As  for  Kitty,  she  did  not  cease 


90  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

to  wonder  what  had  happened  to  Tip  ;  she 
perhaps  felt  the  difference  more  than  any 
one  else,  for  it  had  been  the  delight  of  his 
life  to  teaze  her. 

Now  from  the  time  that  he  gathered  his 
books,  with  the  first  sound  of  the  school-bell, 
and  hurried  up  the  hill,  until  he  returned  at 
night  ready  to  split  wood,  hoe  in  the  gar- 
den, or  do  any  of  the  dozen  things  that  he 
had  never  been  known  to  do  before,  he  was 
a  never-failing  subject  of  thought  and  won- 
derment to  her ;  watching  him  closely,  the 
only  thing  she  could  finally  settle  on,  as  the 
cause  of  the  change  which  she  found  in  him, 
was,  that  he  now  went  every  Sabbath  morn- 
ing to  the  Sabbath  school.  The  mystery 
must  be  hidden  there.  Having  decided  that 
matter,  Kitty  speedily  resolved  that  she 
would  go  there  herself,  and  see  what  they 
did.  Many  were  the  kind  hearts  that  had 
tried  to  coax  her  into  that  same  Sabbath 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  91 

school,  and  had  failed.  But  this  Saturday 
afternoon's  gazing  out  of  the  window,  with  a 
wonderfully  sober  face,  had  ended  in  her 
exclaiming,  — 

"I  say,  mother,  I  want  a  needle  and 
thread." 

"  What  do  you  want  of  a  needle  and 
thread  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Lewis,  stirring  away 
at  some  gruel  in  a  tin  basin,  and  not  even 
glancing  up. 

"  I  want  to  mend  my  dress  ;  it's  torn  this 
way  and  that,  and  looks  awful.  I  want 
some  green  thread,  the  color  of  this  wide 
stripe." 

Now  for  a  minute  the  gruel  was  forgotten, 
and  Mrs.  Lewis  looked  at  Kitty  in  amaze- 
ment. 

"  Dear  me  !  "  she  said  at  last ;  "  I  don't 
know  what  will  happen  next.  It  can't  be 
possible  that  you  are  going  to  work  to  mend 


92  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

your  own  dress  without  being  scolded  about 
it  for  a  week,  and  then  made  to  do  it." 

"  Yes,  I  am,  too  ;  I  ain't  going  to  look  like 
a  rag-bag  another  hour.  And  I'm  going  to 
wash  out  my  sun-bonnet  and  iron  it ;  then  I 
mean  to  go  over  to  that  Sunday  school  to- 
morrow. I  ain't  heard  any  singing  since  I 
was  born,  as  I  know  of,  and  I  mean  to." 

The  gruel  began  to  burn,  and  Mrs.  Lewis 
turned  to  it  again,  saying  nothing,  but  think- 
ing a  great  deal.  Once  she  used  to  go  to 
Sabbath  school  herself,  when  she  was  Kitty's 
age ;  and  she  didn't  have  to  mend  her  dress 
first,  either :  she  used  to  be  dressed  freshly 
and  neatly,  every  Sabbath  morning,  by  her 
mother's  own  careful  hand. 

She  poured  the  gruel  into  a  bowl,  and 
then  went  over  to  her  work-box. 

"  Here's  a  needle  and  thread,"  she  said,  at 
last,  drawing  out  a  snail  of  green  thread 
from  the  many  snarls  in  hei  box.  "  Mend 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  93 

your  dress  if  you  want  to,  and  I'll  wash  out 
your  bonnet  for  you  towards  night,  when  I 
get  that  vest  done." 

It  was  Kitty's  turn  to  be  astonished  now. 
She  had  not  expected  help  from  her  mother. 

Tip  lingered  in  the  kitchen  on  Sabbath 
morning  ;  he  looked  neat  and  clean ;  he  had 
a  fresh,  clean  shirt,  thanks  to  the  washing 
which  his  mother  had  done  "  towards  night." 
He  was  all  ready  for  school,  yet  he  waited. 

Kitty  clattered  around,  making  rather 
more  noise  even  than  usual,  as  she  washed 
up  the  few  poor  dishes. 

Evidently  Tip  was  thinking  about  her. 
The  truth  was,  his  lamp  had  shown  him  a 
lesson  that  morning  like  this,  "Freely  ye 
have  received,  freely  give."  He  stopped  at 
that  verse,  reading  no  farther.  What  did  it 
mean?  Surely  it  spoke  to  him.  Had  not 
God  given,  oh,  so  many  things  to  him  ?  Had 
he  not  promised  to  give  him  heaven  for  his 


TIP  L£  rf7S  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

home  ?  Now,  here  was  the  direction :  "  Free- 
ly give."  What,  and  to  whom  ?  To  God  ? 
Surely  not.  Tip  was  certain  that  he  had 
nothing  to  give  to  God;  nothing  but  his 
poor,  sinful  heart,  which  he  believed  the 
Saviour  had  taken  and  made  clean. 

What  could  he  give  to  any  one?  He 
leaned  out  of  his  little  window,  busy  with 
this  thought.  Kitty  came  out  to  the  door, 
and  pumped  her  pan  full  of  water.  He 
looked  down  on  her.  There  was  Kitty  ;  had 
he  anything  which  he  could  give  her  ?  He 
shook  his  head  mournfully  ;  not  a  thing. 
But  wouldn't  it  be  the  same,  if  he  could  help 
her  to  get  something?  What  if  he  could 
coax  her  to  go  to  Sunday  school ;  perhaps 
it  would  do  for  her  all  that  it  had  done  for 
him.  And  at  this  moment  the  unwearied 
Satan  came  with  his  wicked  thoughts. 

"  Kitty  would  be  a  pretty  looking  object 
to  go  to  Sabbath  school ;  not  a  decent  thing 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H/S  LAMP.  95 

to  wear ;  everybody  would  laugh  at  her  and 
at  you ;  besides,  I  don't  believe  she  would 
go,  if  you  did  ask  her  ;  she  would  only  make 
fun  of  you.  Better  not  try  it." 

"  Oh,  Tip  Lewis  !  "  said  his  conscience, 
"  what  a  miserable  coward  you  are  !  After 
all  you  have  promised,  you  won't  risk  a 
laugh  for  the  sake  of  getting  Kitty  into  the 
Sabbath  school !  " 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  said  Tip,  and  he  ran  down 
stairs. 

And  this  was  why  he  lingered  in  the 
kitchen,  —  not  knowing  just  what  to  say. 
Kitty  helped  him. 

"  Tip,"  said  she,  "  I  suppose  they  sing 
over  at  that  Sunday  school ;  don't  they  ?  " 

"  I  guess  they  do  ;  "  and  Tip's  eyes  bright- 
ened. "  Ever  so  many  of  them  sing  at  once, 
and  it  sounds  grand,  I  tell  you.  They  play 
the  melodeon,  too ;  don't  you  want  to  go 
and  hear  it  ?  " 


96 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"  Humph !  I  don't  know.  I  don't  sup- 
pose it  will  be  any  stupider  than  staying  at 
home.  I  get  awful  sick  of  that.  If,  I  knew 
the  way,  may  be  I  would  go." 

"  Oh,  I'll  take  you,"  said  Tip,  in  a  quick, 
eager  way.  He  wanted  to  speak  before  his 
courage  failed. 

So  Kitty,  in  her  stiff  blue  sun-bonnet  and 
green  calico  dress,  went  to  Sabbath  school. 
There  was  no  mission  class  for  girls,  so  Mr. 
Parker  sent  her  among  the  gayly-dressed 
little  girls  in  Miss  Harley's  class ;  but  Mr. 
Holbrook  detained  Tip. 

"Edward,  you  intend  to  come  to  Sabbath 
jchool  regularly,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Then  I  think  we  must  leave  your  place 
fc  the  mission  seat  to  be  filled  by  some 
rther  boy ;  and  you  may  come  forward  to 
my  class." 

It  is  doubtful  whether  Tip  will  ever  see  a 


flP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


97 


prouder  or  happier  moment  than  that  one 
in  which  he  followed  the  minister  down  the 
long  room  to  his  own  class.  But  when  he 
saw  the  seat  full  of  boys  his  face  grew  crim- 
son. At  the  end  of  the  seat  was  Ellis  Hoi- 
brook,  the  minister's  sou ;  the  boy  who  but 
a  few  days  before  had,  he  believed  in  his 
heart,  told  a  wicked  story  about  himself, 
and  gained  him  a  severe  punishment.  He 
did  not  feel  as  though  he  could  sit  beside 
that  boy,  even  in  Sabbath  school.  But  Mr. 
Holbrook  waited,  and  sit  down  he  must 
Ellis  moved  along  to  give  him  room,  and 
disturbed  him  neither  by  word  nor  look  dur- 
ing the  lesson.  But  Tip's  heart  was  full  of 
bitterness,  and  he  thought  the  pleasure  of 
that  morning  gone.  The  lesson  was  of  Christ 
and  his  death  on  the  cross,  and  as  he  lis- 
tened, hard  thoughts  began  to  die  out ;  the 
story  was  too  new  ;  it  touched  too  near  his 


98  TIP  LEW1B  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

heart  not  to  calm  the  angry  feelings  and 
t.o  interest  him  wonderfully. 

As  soon  as  school  was  dismissed,  Mr. 
Holbrook  turned  to  him.  "  What  disturbs 
you  to-day,  Edward  ?  " 

Tip's  face  grew  red  again.  "I  —  I  — 
nothing  much,  sir." 

"  Have  you  and  Eilis  been  having  trouble 
in  school  ?  " 

"  He  has  been  getting  me  into  trouble," 
spoke  Tip,  boldly,  finding  himself  caught. 

Mr.  Holbrook  sat  down  again.  "  Can  you 
tell  me  about  it,  Edward  ?  " 

"  He  said  I  threw  paper  balls,  and  Mr. 
Burrows  whipped  me ;  and  I  didn't." 

u  Are  you  sure  you  didn't  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  you  say  so  at  the  time  ? " 

"  Over  and  over  again,  but  he  said  he  taw 
one." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  99 

"Edward,   have   you   always  spoken   the 
truth  ?     Is  your  word  to  be  believed  ?  " 

Tip's  eyes  fell,  and  his  lip  quivered 
"  I've  told  a  great  many  stories,"  he  said  at 
last,  in  a  low,  humble  tone :  "  but  this  truly 
isn't  one.  I'm  trying  to  tell  the  truth  after 
this,  and  Jesus  believes  what  I  have  said  this 
time." 

"  So  do  I,  Edward,"  answered  Mr.  Hoi 
brook,  gently,  even  tenderly ;  "  Ellis  was 
mistaken.  But  I  see  you  are  angry  with 
him  ;  can't  you  get  over  that  ?  " 

Tip  shook  his  head.  "  He  got  me  whip- 
ped for  nothing,  sir." 

"  Suppose  Christ  should  follow  that  rule 
Edward,  and  forgive  only  those  who  had 
treated  him  well ;  would  you  be  forgiven 
to-day?" 

This  was  a  new  thought  to  Tip,  and  made 
him  silent.  Mr.  Holbrook  held  out  his  hand 
for  the  little  red  Bible. 


100 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  a  18  LAMP 


"  Let  me  show  you  what  this  lamp  of 
yours  says  about  the  matter." 

And  Tip's  eyes  presently  read  where  the 
minister's  finger  pointed,  "  If  ye  forgive  not 
men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
forgive  your  trespasses." 

'  Trespasses  mean  sins,"  explained  Mr. 
Holbrook ;  then  he  turned  away. 

All  this  time  Kitty  had  been  standing 
waiting,  —  not  for  Tip,  she  didn't  expect  his 
company,  —  but  for  the  stylish  little  girls  to 
get  fairly  started  on  their  way  to  church,  so 
she  could  go  home  without  having  any  of 
them  look  at  or  make  fun  of  her. 

Kitty  had  not  been  having  a  very  good 
time  ;  she  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  a  teacher  who  thought  if  she  asked 
the  questions  in  the  question-book,  and  if 
one  scholar  could  not  answer,  passed  on  to 
the  next,  she  had  done  her  duty.  So  the 
singing  was  pretty  nearly  all  Kitty  had  cared 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


101 


for.  God  was  leaving  most  of  the  work  for 
Tip  to  do,  after  all.  He  went  ever  to  her 
now,  and  walked  down  the  road  with  her. 
The  boys  had  all  gone,  as  well  as  the  girls, 
so  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  their  walking 
on  quietly  together. 

"  How  did  you  like  it,  Kitty  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  I  didn't  think  much  of  it.  I  sat  by 
the  ugliest  girl  in  town,  and  she  made  fun 
of  my  bonnet  and  my  shoes.  I  hate  her." 

Tip  had  a  faint  notion  in  his  heart  that 
Kitty,  also,  needed  the  verse  which  had  just 
been  given  him ;  but  he  had  other  thoughts 
about  her.  God's  spirit  was  at  work.  Hav- 
ing taken  her  to  Sabbath  school,  —  having 
begun  a  good  work,  he  wanted  it  to  go  on. 
It  was  very  hard  to  speak  to  Kitty ;  he 
didn't  know  what  to  say ;  but  all  the  way 
down  the  hill  there  seemed  to  ring  in  his 
ears  the  message,  "Freely  ye  have  receive/, 
freely  give." 


102  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

"  Kitty,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  don't  you  want 
to  be  a  Christian  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  what  a  Christian  is." 

"  But  wouldn't  you  like  to  love  Jesus  ?  " 

"  How  do  /know?"  replied  Kitty,  shortly. 
"  I  don't  know  anything  about  Jesus." 

"  Oh,  didn't  you  hear  in  the  lesson,  to-day, 
about  how  he  loves  everybody,  and  wants 
everybody  to  love  him,  and  how  he  died  so 
we  could  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  a  thing  about  the  lesson. 
I  counted  the  buttons  on  Miss  Harley's  dress 
most  all  the  time  ;  they  went  up  and  down 
the  front,  and  up  and  down  the  sides,  and 
everywhere." 

"  Oh,  but  Kitty,  you  surely  heard  the 
hymn,  — 

'  Jesus  loves  me,  this  I  know, 
For  the  Bible  tells  me  so.' " 

**  Yes,"  Kitty  said  ;  "  the  hymn  was  pretty 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

enough,  only  nobody  gave   me  a  book,  and 
I  could  just  hear  a  word  now  and  then." 

Altogether,  Tip  didn't  feel  that  he  had 
done  Kitty  a  bit  of  good.  But  he  knew  this 
much,  that  since  he  had  begun  to  think 
about  and  talk  to  her,  he  longed,  —  yes, 
longed,  —  with  all  his  heart,  to  have  her 
come  to  Christ. 

"  Ellis,  come  here  a  moment,"  said  Mr. 
Holbrook,  turning  towards  his  study  door, 
as  the  family  came  in  from  church.  "  What 
is  it  about  this  trouble  in  school  with  Ed- 
ward Lewis  ?  " 

"  No  trouble,  father ;  only  Tip  threw  a 
paper  ball,  just  as  he  always  is  doing,  and 
as  Mr.  Burrows  asked  me  if  I  knew  who 
threw  it,  of  course  I  had  to  tell  him,  and 
that  made  Tip  mad.  Why?  Has  he  been 
complaining  to  you,  father  ?  " 

"  Ellis,  did  you  see  Edward  throw  paper  ? " 


104  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Are  you  positive  ?  " 

"  Yes,  —  why,  that  isv —  I  glanced  up  from 
my  book  just  in  time  to  see  it  whiz,  and  it 
came  from  Tip's  direction,  and  his  hand  was 
raised,  so  I  supposed  of  course  he  threw  it. 
I  thought  a  minute  ago  that  I  knew  he  did." 

"But  now  you  would  not  say  positively 
that  some  boy  near  him  might  not  have  done 
it?" 

"Why,  no,  sir,  —  Alex.  Palmer  might 
have  thrown  it ;  but  I  didn't  think  of  such  a 
thing." 

"  Well,  Ellis,  my  verdict  is  that  you  were 
mistaken ;  I  don't  think  Edward  told  a 
falsehood  this  time.  I'll  tell  you  why ;  he  is 
trying  to  take  the  Saviour  for  his  pattern. 
I  believe. he  is  a  Christian.  Now,  there  is 
one  thing  which  I  want  you  to  think  of. 
Edward  Lewis,  who  has  never  been  taught 
anything  good,  who  has  never  had  any  one  to 


TIP  LEW/8  AND  HIS  LAMP.  105 

help  him,  has  given  his  heart  to  Christ ;  and 

my  boy.  for    whom  I  have    prayed  with  all 

my  soul   every  day  since  he   was  born,  hag 
not." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"  HlTHKBTO  HATH  THE  LORD   HELPED  US." 

'OYS,"  said  Mr.  Burrows,  one  Monday 
afternoon,  "  you  may  lay  aside  your 
books ;  I  want  to  have  a  talk  witL 
you." 

Books  were  hurriedly  gathered  and  piled 
in  their  places,  and  the  boys  sat  up  with 
folded  arms,  ready  for  whatever  their  teacher 
had  to  offer. 

Mr.  Burrows  drew  out  his  arm-chair  from 
behind  the  desk,  and  sat  down  for  a  chat. 
"  Who  will  tell  me  what  an  acrostic  is  ?  " 

Several  hands  were  raised. 
106 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


107 


"  Well,  Howard,  let  us  hear  what  you 
think  about  it." 

"  It's  a  piece  of  poetry,  sir,  where  the  first 
letter  of  every  line  spells  another  word." 

"  Do  you  mean  the  first  letter  alone  spells 
a  word?" 

The  boys  laughed,  and  Howard  explained 
promptly.  "  No,  sir  ;  I  mean  the  first  letters 
of  each  line  taken  together  form  a  name." 

"  Must  an  acrostic  always  be   written   in 
poetry  ?  " 

This  question  called  forth  several  answers, 
and  made  a  good  deal  of  talk ;  but  it  was 
finally  decided  that  there  could  be  acrostics 
in  prose  as  well  as  in  rhyme  ;  and  Mr,  Bur- 
rows asked,  — 

"  How  many  understand  now  what  an 
acrostic  is  ? " 

A  few  more  hands  were  raised,  but  many 
of  the  boys  did  not  understand  yet ;  it  must 
be  made  plainer. 


108 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI 8  LAMP. 


"  Howard,"  said  Mr.  Burrows,  "  come  to 
the  board  and  give  us  an  acrostic  on  the 
word  boy." 

Howard  sprang  up.  "  Must  it  be  a  sensi 
ble  one,  sir  ?  " 

"  Sense  or  nonsense,  just  as  you  please,  so 
as  it  shows  us  what  an  acrostic  is." 

"  I  can  take  my  parsing-book  and  give  you 
one,  I  think,  sir." 

And  Howard  came  forward  and  wrote 
rapidly,  — 

"  B    Bat  yon  shall  hear  an  odd  affair,  indeed, 
O    Of  which  all  Europe  rings  from  side  to  side " 

Then  he  paused,  turning  the  leaves  of  his 
parsing-book  eagerly. 

"  I  can't  find  anything  in  Y  to  finish  this 
up  with,"  he  said  at  last. 

"  Can't  you  give  us  a  line  from  your  own 
brain  ?  " 

And  at  this  Howard's  eye  brightened  with 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


109 


foil,  and  turning  to  the  board  after  a  moment 
of  thought,  he  dashed  off  the  closing  line,  — 

"  Y    You  who  can  finish  this  may  have  the  job." 

Then  took  his  seat  amid  bursts  of  laughter 
from  the  boys,  who  all  began  to  understand 
what  an  acrostic  was. 

Ellis  Holbrook's  hand  was  up,  and  his  eyes 
were  full  of  questions. 

"  Mr.  Burrows,  why  is  that  called  by  such 
a  queer  name  as  acrostic  ?  " 

His  teacher  smiled. 

"  You  must  study  Greek,  Ellis.  We  get 
it  from  two  words  in  the  Greek,  or  from  one 
word  made  up  of  two  others,  which  mean 
extreme,  or  beginning  and  order.  In  an 
acrostic  the  beginnings  of  the  lines  are 
arranged  in  order.  Do  you  understand  how 
we  get  that  word  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  now,  you  would  all  like  to  know 


110  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP. 

what  this  talk  is  for.  I  want  every  boy  in 
Bchool  who  can  write,  to -bring  an  acrostic  on 
his  own  name  for  his  next  composition." 

The  boys  groaned,  and  exclaimed,  "  They 
couldn't  do  it,  they  were  sure  ;  they  couldn't 
begin  to  do  it !" 

"  Yes,  you  can,"  said  Mr.  Burrows ;  "I 
don't  give  my  scholars  any  work  that  they 
can't  do.  You  may  quote  it,  or  make  it 
original,  as  you  please ;  but  I  want  every  one 
of  you  to  try" 

Johnny  Thorpe,  the  smallest  boy  in  school 
who  could  write,  now  seemed  in  trouble,  and 
stretched  up  his  arm  to  its  full  length. 

"  Well,  Johnny,  what  will  you  have  ?  " 
asked  his  teacher. 

"  If  you  please,  sir,  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean  by  quote." 

Mr.  Burrows  laughed  pleasantly. 

"  I  must  remember,  I  see,  to  speak  plain 
English  ;  I  mean  you  may  borrow  your  essay 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


Ill 


from  a  book,  or  a  dozen  books,  if  you  like,  so 
that  you  don't  try  to  make  us  believe  the 
thoughts  are  your  own.  You  may  write  in 
poetry  or  not,  as  you  please ;  but  I  want  each 
to  choose  a  subject,  and  stick  to  it  better  than 
Howard  did  just  now.  I  have  given  you 
something  to  do  that  will  keep  you  hard  at 
work,  but  you  will  succeed  at  last." 

Tip  went  home  in  a  tumult.  What  could 
he  do  ?  He  had  never  written  a  composition 
in  his  life,  having  made  it  a  point  to  run 
away  from  school  on  composition-day  ;  but 
running  away  was  done  with  now.  It  didn't 
seem  possible  that  he  could  write  anything  ; 
certainly  not  in  such  a  new,  queer  way  as 
Mr.  Burrows  wished  them  to. 

Supper  and  wood-splitting  were  hurried 
over  for  that  evening,  and  Tip  took  his  way 
very  early  to  the  seat  under  the  elm-tree 
down  by  the  pond.  He  wanted  to  think,  to 
§ee  how  he  should  meet  this  new  trouble  ;  it 


112  TIP  LEWIS  AffD  HIS  LAMP. 

was  a  real  trouble  to  him,  for  he  had  set  out 
to  do  just  right,  and  he  saw  no  way  of  get- 
ting out  of  this  duty,  and  thought  he  saw  no 
way  of  doing  it. 

"  There  is  no  place  on  the  road  so  dark 
but  this  lamp  will  light  you  through,  if  you 
give  it  a  chance." 

This  is  what  Mr.  Holbrook  had  said 
when  he  gave  Tip  his  Bible.  And  Tip  had 
thought  of  his  words  very  often,  had  al- 
ready proved  them  true  more  than  once  ;  but 
he  didn't  see  how  it  could  help  him  now. 

He  took  it  out,  and  slowly  turned  the 
leaves ;  it  couldn't  write  his  composition  for 
him,  that  was  certain.  But  oh,  the  bright 
thought  that  came  to  Tip  just  then  !  Why 
not  find  his  acrostic  in  the  Bible,  and  write  it 
out  ?  among  so  many,  many  verses,  he  would 
be  sure  to  find  what  he  wanted.  But,  then, 
how  very  queer  it  would  be  for  him,  Tij 
Lewis,  to  copy  anything  from  the  Bible 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

What  would  the  boys  think  ?  What  would 
Bob  Turner  say  ?  Still,  what  else  could  he 
do  ?  Besides  his  spelling-book  and  a  worn 
arithmetic,  it  was  the  only  book  that  he  had 
in  the  world. 

"  I  don't  care,"  he  said  suddenly,  after  a 
few  moments  of  troubled  thought.  "  I  guess 
I  ain't  ashamed  of  my  Bible,  —  it's  the  only 
thing  I've  got  that  I  needn't  be  ashamed 
of,  —  I'll  do  it.  The  boys  have  got  to  know 
that  I've  turned  over  a  new  leaf ;  I  wish  they 
did ;  the  sooner  they  know  it  the  better.  I 
say,  my  lamp  shall  help  me  out  of  this  scrape, 
that's  as  true  as  can  be ;  it  helps  me  when- 
ever I  give  it  a  chance." 

He  fumbled  in  his  pocket  and  drew  out  an 
old  stump  of  a  pencil ;  the  next  thing  was  a 
piece  of  paper  ;  he  dived  his  hand  down  into 
another  pocket,  producing  a  rusty  knife, 
pieces  of  string,  a  chesnut  or  two,  and, 
finally,  a  crumpled  piece  of  paper  on  which 


114  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Bob  Turner  had  scrawled  what  he  called  a 
likeness  of  Mr.  Burrows,  and  given  to  Tip 
for  a  keepsake.  He  spread  it  out  on  a  flat 
stone  which  lay  near  him,  and  began  his 
work. 

A  long,  slow  work  it  was  for  Tip.  Hours 
of  that  day,  and  the  next  and  the  next, 
every  day,  until  the  fading  light  drove  him 
home,  did  he  sit  under  the  elm-tree  turning 
the  leaves  of  his  Bible,  poring  over  its  con- 
tents, writing  words  carefully  now  and  then 
on  his  bit  of  paper.  Remember  it  was  new 
work  to  him. 

At  last,  one  evening,  the  sun  went  dowL 
in  the  bright  red  west,  the  stars  shone  out 
in  all  their  twinkling,  sparkling  glory,  the 
shadows  began  to  fall  thick  and  fast  around 
the  old  tree,  when  Tip,  with  a  little  sigh  of 
relief,  folded  the  precious  piece  of  paper, 
laid  it  carefully  away  in  his  Bible,  and 
turned  his  steps  homeward.  His  acrostic 


TIP  US  Witt  AMD  til  a  LAMP. 


115 


was  finished,  and  into  nis  heart  had  crept 
some  of  the  beauty  01  tnose  precious  words, 
which  he  had  found  for  the  first  time. 
Words  they  were  which  would  go  with  him 
through  all  his  life,  and  sweetly  comfort 
some  dark  and  weary  hours. 

The  school  books  were  all  piled  neatly  on 
the  desks  that  Friday  afternoon  ;  the  shades 
were  dropped  to  shut  out  the  low  afternoon 
sun,  and  forty  boys  were  still  and  expectant 
The  acrostics  lay  in  a  great  white  heap  o) 
Mr.  Burrows's  desk,  not  a  name  written  01 
any  of  them.  Mr.  Burrows  was  to  read 
and  the  boys  were  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
spelling  out  the  names  of  the  owners,  as» 
he  read. 

A  merry  time  they  had  of  it  that  after- 
noon ;  some  wonderful  acrostics  were  read. 
Ellis  Holbrook  had  a  very  clever  one, 
arranged  from  his  lesson  in  Virgil.  Howard 
Minturn  had  borrowed  from  his  father's 


116  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

library,  a  copy  of  Shakspeare  and  worked 
hard  over  his ;  the  boys  and  their  teacher 
thought  it  a  success. 

Even  Bob  Turner  had  written ;  the  idea 
had  happened  to  strike  him  as  a  very  funny 
one,  and  Bob  always  did  everything  that  he 
thought  funny.  He  had  found  three  lines  in 
rhyme  which  just  suited  him,  and  by  the 
time  the  eager  boys  had  spelled  out  BOB 
—  which  was  the  only  name  the  boy  saw  fit 
to  own  —  the  schoolroom  fairly  shook  with 
their  laughter. 

Next  to  his  lay  a  paper  which  Tip  kne\v , 
and  his  heart  beat  so  loudly  when  Mr.  Bur- 
rows took  it  up,  that  he  thought  every  one 
in  the  room  must  notice 

The  room  had  now  grown  quiet,  and  Mr. 
Burrows  after  opening  the  paper,  announced 
the  title,  — 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"WHAT  JESUS  CHBIST  SAYS." 

Phen  read  slowly  and  reverently,  while  the 
wondering  scholars  spelled  out  the  name. 

"  E    Even  the  night  shall  be  light  about  thee. 
D    Depart  from  evil  and  do  good. 
W   Whosoever  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 

out. 

A    A  new  heart  will  I  give  you. 
K    Resist  the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you. 
D    Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to 

thee. 

L    Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway. 
E    Ever  follow  that  which  ia  good. 
W   Whosoever  abideth  in  Him,  sinneth  not. 
I    I  will  go  before  thee,  and  make  the  crooked  paths 

straight. 
S    So    that  we  may   boldly  say,   The   Lord   is   my 

helper." 

What  a  silent  and  astonished  company 
listened  to  this  reading,  and  spelled  the 
name  Edward  Lewis ! 


118  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  Edward,"  Mr.  Burrows  said,  at  last, 
"  who  found  those  verses  for  you  ?  " 

"  T  found  them,  sir,  in  my  Bible.  I've 
got  them  all  marked ! "  Speaking  eagerly, 
willing  this  time  to  bring  proof  that  he  was 
telling  the  truth. 

Mr.  Burrows  voice  almost  trembled  as  he 
answered,  — 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  collection  of  some  of  the 
most  precious  verses  in  the  Bible.  It  was  a 
fine  idea ;  I  am  very  much  surprised  and 
pleased.  I  wish  that  you,  and  every  scholar 
of  mine,  could  feel  in  your  hearts  the  full 
meaning  of  those  words  of  Jesus." 

"I  can't  to-night,  Howard,"  said  Ellis 
Holbrook,  in  answer  to  his  friend's  coaxings 
tc  accompany  him  home  ;  "  I've  got  some- 
thing else  to  attend  to.  Hallo,  Tip!  Tip 
Lewis !  Hold  on  a  bit,  I'm  going  your  way 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

No,  Howard,  I'll  come  up  in  the  morning ; 
I  really  can't  to-night." 

Tip  waited  in  wondering  silence  while  the 
boy,  whom  he  counted  an  enemy,  hurried 
towards  him. 

Ellis  was  a  bold,  prompt  boy;  when  he 
had  anything  to  say  he  said  it ;  so  he  came 
to  the  point  at  once. 

"  See  here,  Tip,  did  I  blunder  the  other 
day,  when  I  told  Mr.  Burrows  you  threw 
paper  ?  I  thought  I  saw  you  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Tip,  "you  did.  I  didn't 
throw  a  bit  of  paper  that  day." 

"  Well,  father  said  he  thought  I  was  mis- 
taken. I'm  sure  I  supposed  I  was  telling 
the  truth.  I'm  sorry.  I'll  say  so  to  Mr. 
Burrows  and  the  boys,  if  you  like,  and  let 
him  find  out  who  did  it,  and  then  was  mean 
enough  to  see  you  whipped  for  it." 

Tip  struggled  a  little.  "  No,"  he  said,  at 
last,  "  let  it  go ;  the  whipping  is  done,  and 


A  20  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS 


can't  be  undone  ;  I  don't  want  to  make  any 
more  bother  about  it." 

Ellis  eyed  him  curiously. 

"  You're  a  queer  fellow,"  he  said,  at  last. 
"  I  expect  you  had  about  the  best  acrostic, 
this  afternoon,  that  can  be  written." 

Tip's  heart  was  throbbing  with  pleasure 
as  he  walked  on  home  after  Ellis  had  left 
him.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had 
earnest,  warm,  hearty  praise  from  his  teacher. 
Ellis  had  said,  "  Father  told  me  he  thought 
I  was  mistaken."  Mr.  Holbrook,  then,  did 
believe  and  trust  him.  Besides,  there  was 
another  thought  which  seemed  delightful  to 
him.  Tip  Lewis,  the  worthless,  yes,  wicked 
boy  that  everybody  thought  him,  had  walked 
down  the  main  street  side  by  side,  and  talk- 
ing earnestly  with  Ellis  Holbrook,  the  minis- 
ter's Bon. 


CHAPTER  X 


EBTKK  HOT  ISTO  THE  PATH  OF  THB  WICKKD." 

ITTY  hung  on  the  gate  and  watched 
them  pass  by ;  the  long  train  of 
high  wagons  with  grated  windows, 
out  of  which  strange  animals  peered 
with  their  great  fierce  eyes ;  the  two  ele- 
phants in  their  scarlet  and  gold  blankets  ; 
the  tiny  ponies  tossing  their  shaggy  manes  ; 
the  splendid  carriage  drawn  by  eight  gayly- 
blanketed,  gayly-plumed,  dancing  horses,  and 
every  seat  filled  with  splendidly  dressed  men 
and  women  ;  the  bright-red  band-wagon,  with 

the  sun  glittering  over  the  wonderful  brass 
121 


122  TIP  LEWI 8  AND  BIS  LAMi.. 

instruments,  and  turning  them  into  gold 
Kitty  watched  all  this ;  watched,  and  lis 
tened  to  the  loud,  full  bursts  of  music,  until 
her  heart  swelled  and  bounded.  She  sprang 
from  the  gate,  and  stamped  her  foot  on  the 
ground. 

"  I  wish,  oh,  I  wish  I  could  go ! "  she 
almost  screamed  at  last.  "  I  want  to ;  I 
want  to  ;  oh,  I  never  wanted  to  go  anywhere 
so  bad  in  my  life." 

"  I  reckon  you'll  take  it  out  in  wanting," 
said  her  mother,  who  had  also  leaned  on  the 
fence  and  watched  the  show  pass  by.  "  Folks 
who  have  to  dig  as  I  do,  from  morning  to 
night,  just  to  get  something  to  eat,  don't  have 
any  money  to  spend  on  circuses." 

Kitty  shook  her  head  with  rage.  "  I  don't 
go  anywhere,"  she  screamed.  "  Never !  I 
never  went  to  a  circus  in  my  life,  and  all  the 
boys  and  girls  around  here  go  every  year. 
Tip  always  goes,  always  ;  he  manages  to  slip 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  123 

in.  Oh,  Tip ! "  And  she  opened  the  gate 
and  went  out  to  him  on  the  sidewalk,  a  new 
thought  having  come  to  her. 

"Can't  you  do  something  to  get  some 
money,  and  let  me  go  to  the  circus  with  you  ? 
Can't  you  manage  some  way  ?  Oh,  Tip,  do ! 
['11  do  anything  for  you,  if  you  only  will ;  I 
never  wanted  anything  so  bad  before." 

And  Tip's  face,  as  he  walked  towards  the 
village  ten  minutes  after  that,  was  a  study, 
it  looked  so  full  of  trouble. 

Kitty  wanted  to  go  to  that  circus ;  wanted 
to  go  so  very  much  that  she  had  coaxed  and 
begged  him  in  a  way  that  she  had  never 
done  before.  Besides,  if  the  truth  be  told, 
Tip  wanted  to  go  himself;  every  time  the 
wind  wafted  back  to  him  a  swell  of  the  dis- 
tant music,  it  made  his  heart  fairly  jump. 
It  was  true,  as  Kitty  had  said,  he  always 
managed  to  slip  in  some  way ;  and  the 
oftener  he  went,  the  oftener  he  wanted  to  go 


124  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Well,  then,  what  was  the  matter  with 
Tip  ?  What  he  had  done  so  many  times  be- 
fore, he  could  surely  find  a  way  to  do  again. 
O  yes !  But  Tip  Lewis  to-day  was  different 
from  any  Tip  Lewis  there  had  ever  been  before 
on  circus  day.  Wasn't  he  trying  to  do  right  ? 
But  then,  what  had  circuses  to  do  with  that  ? 
He  tried  to  think  what  were  his  reasons  for 
being  troubled!  Why  did  a  small  voice 
down  in  his  heart  keep  telling  him  that  the 
circus  was  no  place  for  him  now  ? 

Looking  at  the  matter  steadily,  the  only 
reason  Tip  knew  was,  that  Ellis  Holbrook 
and  Howard  Minturn  never  went;  their 
fathers  had  taught  them  differently.  Ellis, 
he  knew,  rather  looked  down  on  people  who 
did  go ;  called  them  low.  This  had  never 
troubled  Tip  before,  because  he  had  always 
known  himself  to  be  low ;  but  now,  wasn't 
he  trying  to  climb  ?  Didn't  respectable 


TIP  LEW  IB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


125 


people  generally  think  that  circuses  were 
bad  things  ? 

No,  poor  Tip,  they  didn't  ;  there  was 
Mr.  Bailey,  a  rich  man,  —  so  rich  and  so 
respectable,  that  his  son  wouldn't  stoop  to 
lend  Tip  his  spelling-book  at  school,  —  yet 
Mr.  Bailey  went  to  the  circus  last  year  and 
took  all  his  children.  So  did  Mr.  Anderson 
and  Mr.  Stone,  and  oh,  dozens  of  others, 
rich,  great  men.  Well,  did  good  people  go  ? 
and  Tip's  thoughts  strayed  back  to  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook,  and  Mr.  Parker  and  Mr.  Minturn, 
yea,  and  others,  whose  voices  he  had  heard 
on  the  streets  and  in  stores,  condemning  the 
circus. 

But  then,  after  all,  where  was  the  harm  ? 
There  was  Kitty,  how  much  she  wanted  to 
go ;  if  he  could  manage  to  take  her  how 
glad  she  would  be !  At  this  point  Satan 
thought  there  was  a  chance  for  him  to  speak  ; 


126  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

so  he  walked  along  with  Tip,  talking  like 
this; 

"  Kitty  has  never  asked  you  to  do  anything 
for  her  before ;  you  want  to  help  her ;  you 
want  to  get  her  to  go  to  Sunday  school  and 
to  read  the  Bible  ;  now's  your  time ;  if  you 
take  her  to  the  circus,  very  likely  she  will 
do  what  you  want  her  to." 

This  was  a  little  too  absurd,  even  for  Tip, 
who  wanted  to  believe  it  all  so  badly ;  but 
whoever  heard  of  taking  any  one  to  a  circus 
in  order  to  get  them  to  love  Jesus !  Tip 
knew  altogether  too  well  for  his  comfort,  that 
day,  that  Mr.  Holbrook's  example  was  the 
safe  one.  At  last  he  drew  a  little  sigh  of 
relief ;  he  needn't  think  about  it  any  more, 
for  he  had  no  money ;  he  had  never  owned 
fifty  cents  at  one  time  in  his  life ;  so  the 
question,  after  all,  would  settle  itself. 

No,  it  wouldn't.     Mr.  Dewey  stood  in  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  127 

door  of  his  market  looking  up  and  down  the 
street. 

"  Halloa,  Tip  ! "  he  called,  as  Tip  turned 
the  corner  ;  "  you're  the  boy  I  must  have 
been  looking  for,  I  guess.  If  you'll  carry 
home  packages  for  me  for  an  hour,  and  not 
steal  one  of  them,  I'll  give  you  two  ticket? 
for  the  circus." 

Tip's  cheeks  glowed  at  the  word  steal,  and 
he  came  near  telling  Mr.  Dewey  to  carry  his 
own  packages,  if  he  were  afraid  to  trust  him. 

But  then,  those  two  tickets !  Here  was  a 
chance  for  Kitty ;  the  conflict  commenced 
again. 

A  whole  hour  in  which  to  decide  it,  for 
Tip  meant  to  do  the  work  any  way.  Up  and 
down  the  streets,  stopping  at  this  house  and 
that,  with  his  parcels,  back  again  to  the  mar- 
ket for  more,  all  the  time  in  a  whirl  of 
thought;  the  question  was  almost  decided 
when  the  two  green  tickets  were  placed  in 


128 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


his  hand;  it  closed  over  them  eagerly;  he 
hurried  towards  home. 

Towards  home,  led  him  past  the  brick 
hotel.  In  the  bar-room  sat  some  of  the  cir- 
cus men;  he  knew  them  by  their  heavy 
beards  which  almost  covered  their  faces ; 
knew  them  also  because  he  knew  every  man 
in  town,  just  who  were  strangers  and  who 
were  not.  Well,  these  circus  men  were  very 
busy  drinking  brandy,  and  playing  cards. 
Tip  stopped  and  looked  in  at  them ;  and, 
ignorant  boy  as  he  was,  the  thought  that 
good,  respectable  people  would  go  to  see  and 
hear  such  men  as  these,  seemed  very  strange. 
It  couldn't  be  right,  could  it  ?  How  was  it  ? 
A  great  many  nice  people  must  have  blun- 
dered terribly  if  it  were  wrong ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  it  were  not  wrong,  how  did 
the  minister  happen  to  be  so  afraid  of  these 
things  ?  Why  did  he  himself  have  so  many 
queer  feelings  about  the  matter  ? 


TIP  LFWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 


129 


What  a  trouble  he  was  in !  If  only  he 
oould  find  somebody  or  something  that 
would  decide  it  for  him !  Long  before  this 
he  had  walked  away  from  the  hotel ;  now  he 
had  crossed  the  bridge,  gone  around  behind 
the  mill,  and  was  very  near  his  seat  under 
the  elm.  Down  he  sat  when  he  came  to  it, 
still  holding  fast  the  two  green  tickets,  but 
with  the  other  hand  diving  down  in  his  pock- 
et for  the  little  Bible.  That  was  getting  to 
be  a  habit  with  him,  to  hunt  for  this  lamp  of 
his  whenever  he  was  in  darkness  ;  he  turned 
the  leaves  now  with  a  perplexed  face  ;  if  he 
only  knew  where  to  turn  for  help  ! 

"  Let  me  see,"  he  said.  "  Where  was  that 
verse  that  I  learned  for  the  Sunday-school 
concert  ?  I  liked  the  sound  of  that ;  it  was 
somewhere  in  this  book  full  of  short,  queer 
verses.  I  can  find  it ;  yes,  I  see  it.  '  For 
the  Lord  shall  be  thy  confidence,  and  shall 
keep  thy  foot  from  being  taken.'  " 


130  TIP  LE  wis  AND  ma  LAMP. 

It  didn't  seem  to  help  him ;  he  shook  his 
head  slowly,  still  glancing  on  over  the 
verses,  until  suddenly  his  listless  look  van- 
ished, and  he  read  aloud :  "  Enter  not  into 
the  path  of  the  wicked,  and  go  not  in  the 
way  of  evil  men.  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it, 
turn  from  it,  and  pass  away." 

"  That  means  them,"  said  Tip,  "  and  me. 
They're  wicked  men,  that's  certain ;  they 
were  drinking  and  gambling ;  swearing,  too, 
I  guess ;  and  this  verse  reads  about  them 
just  as  plain  as  day.  It  says  '  don't  go  near 
them  ; '  says  it  over  and  over  again  ;  and  I'll 
mind  it,  I  will.  I'll  take  these  tickets  right 
back  to  Mr.  Dewey,  so  they  won't  be  here  to 
put  me  in  mind  of  going." 

No  sooner  said  than  done ;  he  turned 
around  and  fairly  galloped  up  the  hill, 
around  the  corner,  and  landed  nearly  breath- 
less at  the  market. 

'k  Here.   Mr.    Dewey,"  he   said,  promptly, 


TIP.  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  131 

"  I've  brought  back  your  tickets ;  I  don't 
want  'em  this  time." 

"  What's  up  now  ? "  asked  Mr.  Dewey, 
coming  out  from  behind  his  desk,  and  eyeing 
the  panting  boy  curiously.  "  Won't  the 
tickets  pass  ?  " 

"  Not  if  they  wait  till  I  pass  'em,"  an- 
swered Tip,  in  his  prompt,  saucy  way ;  "  I 
ain't  going  to  the  circus,  not  an  inch"  he 
added,  at  if  to  assure  himself  that  he  meant 
it. 

"  But,  why  not  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I've  got  reasons." 

"  Well,  now,  Tip,"  said  Mr.  Dewey,  "  that's 
really  astonishing;  suppose  you  give  us  a 
few  of  your  reasons  ;  we  don't  know  what  to 
make  of  this." 

Tip  didn't  know  what  to  say,  he  hesitated 
and  thought,  and  finally  did  the  best  thing 
he  could  ;  spoke  out  boldly. 

"  I've  made  up  my  mind  that  I  won't  go  to 


132 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


any  more  circuses,  ever  !    I  don't  believe  in 
'em  as  much  as  I  did." 

That  wasn't  it,  yet  he  had  not  owned  hiy 
Master  in  the  answer.  Neither  was  Mr 
Dewey  satisfied. 

"But,  Tip,  give  us  the  reasons ;  this  in 
such  a  sudden  change,  you  know." 

"  Well,"  said  Tip,  u  I've  been  reading 
about  them  just  now." 

"  About  whom  ?  " 

"  Why,  them  circus  fellows.  They're  up 
here  at  the  tavern ;  they're  drinking  and 
fighting,  and  I  don't  know  what ;  and  1 
guess,  by  the  looks  of  things,  they're  pretty 
wicked.  The  book  I  was  reading  said, 
Don't  go  near  wicked  men,  turn  around  and 
go  the  other  way  ;  and  I  mean  to."  And, 
with  this,  Tip  whisked  out  of  the  house  and 
around  the  corner. 

Mr.  Dewey  shrugged  his  shoulders. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 


•'  The  world  turns  around,  sure  enough," 
he  said,  at  last. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  and  Mr.  Min- 
turn  tjgb  his  market  basket  on  the  step,  and 
fanned  himself  with  his  hat.  "  I'm  my  own 
boy  to-day,  you  see  ;  give  me  something  for 
my  dinner.  How  did  you  find  out  that  the 
world  turned  around  ?  " 

"  Why,  Tip  Lewis  has  taken  to  preaching 
against  circuses.  Will  you  have  a  roast  to- 
day, Mr.  Minturn  ?  I  gave  him  a  ticket,  and 
he  just  rushed  in  with  it  and  informed  us  he 
wasn't  going  to  circuses  any  more,  because 
the  Bible  says  they  are  wicked  fellows  ; 
what  do  you  think  of  that  ?  " 

"  Humph  !  "  said  Mr.  Minturn.  "  The  Bi- 
ble says  it  would  be  better  for  a  man,  some- 
times, if  a  millstone  were  about  his  neck, 
and  he  were  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  I'd 
look  out  for  that,  if  I  were  you.  Hurry  up 
vith  your  meat  ;  I  ought  to  be  at  the  store.'' 


184  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

Tip  went  home  to  Kitty.  She  still  swung 
on  the  gate  ;  at  least  she  was  there  when  he 
came  up. 

"Oh,  Tip!"  she  said,  "aie  your.gping  to 
take  me  ?  Oh,  Tip,  do.  I  never  asked  you 
for  anything  before." 

Tip  walked  slowly  up  the  yard,  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets,  troubled,  —  not  know- 
ing what  to  say,  or  how  to  say  it.  At  last 
he  stopped  and  wheeled  about,  "  Kitty,  I 
can't ;  I  can't  go.  I  could  get  tickets  if  I 
dared,  but  I  don't  mean  to  go  any  more ; 
they're  bad,  wicked  men,  and  I'm  trying  to 
be " 

But  Kitty  twitched  herself  away  from 
him,  and  wouldn't  hear  any  more. 

"  Do  gu  off !  "  she  said.  "  You're  a  mean, 
ugly,  hateful  boy.  I'm  sorry  you  got  so 
awful  good,  if  you  can't  do  that  little  much 
for  me.  Go  away,  and  let  me  alone." 

Even  in  his  sore  trouble,  a  little  flash  of 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  135 

joy  shot  through  Tip's  heart.  He  was  dif- 
ferent, then.  Kitty  had  noticed  it,  she  knew 
he  was  trying  to  be  different.  There  must 
be  a  little  bit  of  change  in  him. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

4  AVOID  IT,  PASS  NOT  BY  IT,  TURN  FROM  IT,  AND  PASS  AWAT." 

VER  and  over  in  his  mind  did  Tip 
repeat  this  verse  ;  it  seemed  to  sound 
all  around  him,  and  mixed  up  with 
everything  he  did.  A  '  yet  he 
went  out  of  the  house  that  evening,  and 
turned  straight  down  the  street  in  the 
direction  leading  to  the  tented  circus 
grounds.  Walking  along  slowly,  talking  to 
himself. 

"It  won't  do  any  harm  just  to  listen  to  the 
music.     I  don't   mean  to  go  in,  of  course  I 

don't.     Suppose  I'd  do  that,  after  all  I  said 
136 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


13-; 


to  Kitty  !  Besides,  I  couldn't  if  I  would.  I 
haven't  got  any  ticket.  I'm  just  going  to 
walk  down  that  way,  and  see  if  there's  lots 
of  folks  going;  and  if  the  music  sounds 
nice." 

"  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it."  O,  yes,  Tip 
knew  ;  he  heard  the  voice,  yet  on  he  went ; 
beginning  to  walk  swiftly,  only  saying  in 
answer,  "  I  ain't  going  in  ;  I  couldn't,  if  I 
wanted  to  ;  and  I  don't  want  to." 

By  and  by  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
tents  and  within  sound  of  the  music,  which, 
to  his  untaught  ears,  was  wonderfully  beauti- 
ful ;  came  up  even  to  the  very  door  of  the 
large  tent,  bewitched  to  go  just  a  step 
nearer,  though  he  didn't  mean  to  go  in,  not 
he. 

Yes,  the  people  were  crowding  in.  Mr. 
Douglass  stood  by  the  door.  Tip  knew  him 
very  well ;  that  is,  he  knew  he  lived  in  a 
large  house  and  had  plenty  of  money  ;  and 


138 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


he  knew  when  the  men  were  trying  to  raise 
any  money,  some  one  was  sure  to  say,  "  Go 
to  Mr.  Douglass  ;  he's  always  ready  to  give." 

Everybody  liked  Mr.  Douglass.  He  turned 
around  now  from  looking  down  the  road,  and 
looked  down  at  Tip. 

"  Well,  Tip,"  he  said,  "  going  to  the  cir- 
cus ?" 

Tip  shook  his  head. 

"What's  the  matter — no  money?  pity  to 
get  so  near  and  not  go  in  ;  isn't  it,  pet  ?  " 

This  last,  to  the  dainty  little  girl  whose 
band  he  held. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  with  a  happy  smile. 
"  Papa,  why  don't  mamma  come  ?  " 

"  Oh,  she'll  be  along  soon.  Here,  sir," 
to  the  door-keeper,  handing  him  twenty-five 
cents,  "  let  this  ragamuffin  in.  In  with  you, 
Tip,  and  practice  standing  on  your  head  for 
a  month  to  come." 

It  was  all  done  in  a  hurry ;  the  door-keeper 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LJLMP.  139 

stepped  aside,  the  crowd  jostled  and  pushed 
against  him,  the  music  burst  forth  in  a  new 
loud  swell.  A  moment  more,  and  Tip  stood 
in  the  brightly-lighted  room,  staring  eagerly 
around  him :  there  was  enough  to  see,  the 
seats  were  filling  rapidly  with  gayly-dressed 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  He  knew  them,  many 
of  them,  had  seen  them  on  the  streets  often 
and  often ;  had  seen  some  of  them  in  Sabbath 
school,  seated  before  their  classes. 

Tip  was  speedily  giving  himself  up  to 
enjoyment ;  hushing  the  small  voice  in  his 
heart.  One  of  the  nicest  men  in  town  had 
let  him  in ;  yes,  and  there  he  was  now  with 
his  wife  and  little  girl ;  Mrs.  Douglass  was 
not  only  a  teacher  in  the  Sabbath  school,  but 
a  member  of  the  church.  If  she  could  go 
to  the  circus  why  couldn't  he  ?  So  Tip  rea- 
soned, and  nobody  told  him  that  his  lamp 
said,  "  Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account 
of  himself  to  God." 


140 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  fII8  LAMP. 


Presently,  the  wonderful  little  shaggy 
ponies  trotted  out ;  and  back  behind  the  cur- 
tains was  one  of  the  riders  ;  he  got  a  peep 
of  her  every  now  and  then,  in  her  splendid 
dress ;  he  knew  she  would  be  out  pretty 
soon,  and  then  she  would  ride. 

Oh,  that  music  !  how  it  rolled  around  the 
ring.  Tip  was  too  busy  looking  and  listen 
ing  to  keep  out  of  people's  way,  he  stepped 
back,  still  jostled  by  the  crowd  who  were 
pouring  in,  and  stepped  directly  in  front  of  a 
man  who  was  trying  to  make  his  way  through 
the  crowd  around  the  entrance.  Tip  knew 
him  in  an  instant :  he  was  one  of  the  circus 
men  ;  the  one  with  the  ugly  face  that  he  had 
noticed  in  the  morning  ;  it  was  ugly  still,  and* 
led  with  liquor.  He  turned  a  pah-  of  fiery 
eyes  on  Tip,  and  a  dreadful  oatli  fell  from  his 
lips  as  he  swung  him  angrily  out  of  his  way. 

Oh,  Tip  Lewis !  No  wonder  your  heart 
fairly  stops  its  beating  for  an  instant,  tfien 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  B/8  LAMP. 

bounds  on  with  rapid  throbs.  Only  a  fev 
days  ago  you  listened  to  the  story  of  a  bleed- 
ing, dying  Saviour ;  bleeding  and  dying  for 
you ;  and  you  promised,  with  honest  tears, 
that  for  this  you  would  love  and  serve  and 
honor  him  forever.  And  yet,  to-night,  here 
you  are,  watching  the  tricks  of  men,  who 
can  speak  that  sacred  name  in  such  a  way 
that  it  will  make  even  you,  who  are  used  to 
this,  shudder  and  turn  cold.  "  In  the  name 
of  the  Saviour  whom  you  love,  what  do  you 
here  ?  " 

It  was  to  Tip  as  if  Christ  himself  had 
asked  that  question.  He  turned  suddenly, 
and  with  both  hands  pressed  to  his  ears, 
fairly  fought  his  way  through  the  crowd. 

"  Let  me  out !  let  me  go  !  "  He  fairly 
shrieked  the  words  at  the  astonished  door- 
keeper, who  stood  aside  to  let  him  pass. 
Up  the  hill  with  swift,  eager  steps  he  ran, 
trying  still  to  shut  out  the  ring  of  that  awful 


142  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

oath.  The  sound  of  that  hateful  voice, 
speaking  the  name  which  had  so  lately  be- 
come to  him  the  one  dear  and  precious  name 
in  earth  or  heaven.  On,  on,  up  the  hill, 
and  then  down  on  the  other  side,  stopping 
finally  at  the  great  tree  under  the  hill,  just 
across  the  pond.  Stopping  and  sitting  down, 
he  tried  to  think.  What  had  he  done  ?  He 
had  been  warned,  he  had  been  tempted,  and 
he  had  fallen.  It  didn't  help  him  now  to 
think  that  good  men  and  women  were  there. 
Perhaps  God  had  not  so  plainly  shown  them 
the  wrong.  Perhaps  they  had  never  found 
that  verse :  "  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it." 
Perhaps  —  oh,  anything  —  it  was  nothing  to 
him  now.  This  much  was  certain,  he  had 
done  wrong.  Such  a  heavy,  heavy  heart  as 
Tip  had  to-night.  What  should  he  do? 
What  would  Kitty  say,  if  she  found  it  out  ? 
Oh,  what  would  Mr.  Dewey  think,  or  Mr. 
Holbrook  ?  and  then  above  all  else  came  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


143 


thuight,  What  could  Jesus,  looking  down  on 
him  now  from  heaven,  what  could  he  think 
of  him  ?  This  thought  brought  the  bitter 
tears,  but  it  brought  him  also  on  his  knees ; 
and  he  said,  — 

"  Oh,  Jesus  Christ,  in  spite  of  it  all,  you 
know  I  love  you ;  won't  you  forgive  me,  and 
let  me  try  again  ?  "  Long  he  knelt  there, 
faying  to  get  close  to  Christ,  and  his  Saviour 
did  not  leave  him  alone.  It  was  only  yester- 
day he  had  learned  the  verse,  and  it  came  to 
him  softly  now :  u  Thou  art  a  God  ready  to 
pardon,  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger, 
of  great  kindness. 

In  his  sore  trouble,  Tip's  lamp  had  not 
failed  him. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

'Hi  HONORKTH   THEM   THAT    FEAK  THX  LOBD." 

'LOWLY,  but  surely,  as  the  late 
autumn  days  came  on,  Tip  was 
growing  into  a  better  place  in  the 
school-room,  in  the  opinion  of  his 
teachers  and  his  schoolmates.  In  Mr.  Bur- 
rows' school,  ten  was  the  perfect  mark, 
and  x  was  the  very  lowest  grade  a  boy  coul  .1 
reach.  It  had  once  been  an  every-day  joke 
with  Tip,  that,  being  x  he  must  be  perfect, 
because  it  said  in  the  spelling-book  that  x 
was  ten. 

But  it  had  been  a  good  many  days  since 
144 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  145 

Tip  had  said  x ;  the  boys  had  ceased  to  be 
amazed  when  he  answered  "  ten  "  in  prompt, 
proud  tone. 

They  were  growing  many  of  them,  to  be 
surprised  and  sorry  for  him,  when  in  his 
days  of  failures  he  answered,  with  drooped 
eyes,  and  very  red,  ashamed  face,  "  seven," 
or  it  might  be  "  six." 

Though  he  was  still  anything  but  a  good 
reader,  no  one  could  fail  to  see  that  he  blun- 
dered less  and  less  every  day,  and  Mr.  Bur- 
rows was  growing  patient  with  his  blunders, 
growing  helpful  in  his  troubles. 

The  boys  saw  him  working  hard  over  his 
spelling-book,  and  few  of  them  now  had  the 
meanness  to  laugh  when  a  word  passed  him. 

Mr.  Burrows's  tones  were  not  so  harsh  to 

'  him   as   they  used    to   be,  —  and  nowadays 

when    he   was    accused   of    breaking    rules, 

instead  of  being  called  up  and  unhesitatingly 

punished,  his  teacher,  who  grew  every  day 


146  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

less  and  less  sure  that  he  was  at  the  bottom 
of  all  the  mischief  done,  always  gave  him  a 
chance  to  speak  for  himself,  and  was  learn- 
ing to  believe  him. 

O  yes !  things  were  different,  and  were 
all  the  time  growing  more  so.  Bob  Turner 
saw  this  plainly ;  he  began  to  find  Tip  a 
very  stupid  companion,  and  stayed  away 
from  school  more  afternoons  than  ever. 

But  poor  Tip  noticed  the  change  less,  — 
yes,  much  less  than  any  of  the  others.  \ou 
don't  know  how  hard  it  was  for  him.  Do 
you  think  Satan  was  willing  to  leave  him, 
and  let  him  grow  quietly  into  a  good  boy  ? 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  You  see  he  had  been  born 
bubbling  over  with  fun  and  frolic ;  he  had 
never  learned  to  have  them  come  in  at  the 
right  place  or  the  right  time. 

Sometimes  he  felt  willing  to  give  up  all 
trying  to  do  right,  for  the  sake  of  having 
a  grand  frolic  just  when  and  where  he 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP.  147 

wanted  it,  —  no  matter  what  might  be  going 
on  just  then.  Sometimes,  when  he  failed, 
he  felt  fierce  and  sullen,  and  told  himself 
it  was  all  humbug,  this  trying  to  be  good. 
Sometimes  he  felt  so  utterly  sad  and  discour- 
aged, that  it  seemed  to  him  he  never  could 
try  again;  yet  through  it  all  he  did  try 
heartily. 

His  arithmetic  was  the  hardest.  He  was 
still  in  the  dunce  class,  —  so  the  boys  called 
it,  because  it  was  made  up  of  the  drones 
from  several  classes,  and  was  constantly  be- 
ing put  back  to  addition. 

It  was  a  sharp  winter's  morning.  No  more 
make-believe  winter  for  a  while,  —  the  snow 
lay  white  and  crisp  on  the  ground,  and  the 
frosty  air  stung  every  nose  and  every  finger 
it  could  reach. 

Tip's  study,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  under 
the  elm,  had  been  quite  broken  up,  and  he 
found  it  very  hard  to  study  at  home, — 


148  TIP  LE  WIB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

especially  this  morning.  His  father's  cough 
had  been  bad  all  night,  and  this  made  his 
mother  troubled  and  cross. 

Kitty,  these  days,  seemed  trying  to  see 
just  how  cross  and  disagreeable  she  could 
be,  and  the  kitchen  —  at  best,  a  dismal 
place  —  was  just  now  at  the  worst.  The 
wet  wood  in  the  stove,  sizzled  and  stewed 
and  made  a  smoke ;  and  in  the  midst  of  Tip's 
fifth  trial  on  an  example,  which  was  puzzling 
him  terribly,  he  was  called  on  to  split  some 
kindlings. 

"  This  instant  —  I  won't  wait  a  minute  !  " 
Kitty  said,  in  a  provokingly  commanding 
tone ;  and  Tip  went  at  it  sullenly,  saying, 
with  every  spiteful  drive  of  his  axe,  through 
the  pine  board  which  he  had  picked  up,  "  It's 
no  use ;  I  can't  do  that  sum,  and  I  ain't  going 
to  try.  I  don't  know  anything,  and  never 
will.  I've  done  it  over  fifty  times,  and 
twisted  it  every  way  I  can  think  of.  There's 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


149 


no  sense  to  it.  any  way, —  sixteen  sheep  stood 
him  in  two  dollars  apiece.  What  does  that 
mean,  I'd  like  to  know?  He  had  forty 
sheep  and  twenty-five  cows.  I  know  it  all 
by  heart;  but  I  can't  do  it,  and  that's  the 
whole  of  it.  I  wish  his  sheep  had  chocked 
to  death,  and  his  old  cows  run  away,  before 
I  ever  heard  of  them.  I'll  go  over  it  just 
once  more"  (Tip  was  back  by  the  kitchen 
window  now,  with  his  slate  and  book). 
*'  Let's  see,  twenty-five  cows  at  thirty-four 
dollars  apiece," — and  he  worked  away  in 
nervous  haste,  until  he  came  to  "  stood  him 
iu."  If  he  only  could  find  out  what  that 
meant,  he  felt  sure  he  could  do  it.  If  he 
had  somebody  to  help  him ;  but  he  hadn't. 
There  would  be  no  time  after  he  went  to 
school  before  the  class  was  called. 

Just  then  he  thought  of  his  father  ;  he 
used  to  be  a  carpenter  before  he  was  sick, 
and  he  used  to  make  a  great  many  figures 


150  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP. 

sometimes  on  smooth  boards.  Tip  remem- 
bered it  was  just  possible  that  he  might 
know  something  about  the  sum  ;  suppose  he 
should  ask  him  ? 

He  started  up  suddenly,  and  went  towards 
the  bedroom  door. 

"Father,"  he  said,  softly,  "can't  you  tell 
me  what '  stood  him  in '  means  ?  " 

The  sick  man  turned  himself  on  his  pillow, 
and  looked  wonderingly  at  Tip. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked,  at  last. 

"  Why,"  said  Tip,  in  a  despairing  tone,  "  it 
says  '  stood  him  in '  in  the  arithmetic,— 
the  sheep  stood  him  in  two  dollars  apiece, 
and  1  don't  see  any  sense  to  it." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Mr.  Lewis,  "  I  see  what  you 
mean," —  then  he  went  back  to  his  long-ago 
deserted  carpenter's  shop. 

"  Why,  Tip,  if  I  bad  ten  pounds  of  nails, 
and  they  were  worth  eight  cents  a  pound, 
they  would  stand  me  just  so  much, —  that 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


151 


is,  they  would  be  worth  that  to  me,  and  if 
I  should  sell  them  I'd  get  so  much  for  them. 
Don't  you  see  ?  " 

Light  began  to  dawn  on  Tip's  mind. 

"  Then  it  means,"  he  said,  "  that  the  man 
didn't  sell  his  sixteen  sheep  ;  he  just  counted 
them  worth  two  dollars  apiece.  Yes,  I  see ; 
if  that's  it  I'll  try  it."  And  he  rushed  to 
his  work  again. 

And  Tip  will  never  forget  the  eargerness 
with  which  he  presently  turned  to  the  answer 
in  his  arithmetic,  and  from  that  back  to  the 
one  on  the  slate, —  nor  the  way  in  which  the 
blood  bounded  through  his  veins  when  he 
found  that  they  agreed  perfectly. 

"It's  exactly  it,"  he  called  out  to  his 
father,  in  a  hearty,  grateful  voice.  kk  I've  got 
it,  and  I've  been  at  work  on  it  this  whole 
morning." 

Ellis  Holbrook,  about  that  time,  conquered 


152  TIP  LEWIS  AMD  HIS  LAMP. 

st  most  puzzling  example  in  algebra  ;  but  he 
felt  not  prouder  than  did  Tip. 

"Thomas,"  said  Mr.  Burrows  to  the  head 
boy  in  Tip's  arithmetic  class,  "  you  may  take 
the  twenty-third  example  to  the  board." 

"  Can't  do  it,"  answered  Thomas,  promptly. 

"  Henry  may  do  it  then." 

"  I  couldn't  get  it  either,"  was  Henry's 
answer.  So  on  down  the  class  ;  Tip's  heart 
meantime  beating  eagerly,  for  the  twenty- 
third  example  was  about  his  troublesome, 
but  by  this  time  very  much  beloved  sheep. 

"  Robert  ? "  said  Mr.  Burrows,  more  for 
form's  sake  than  because  he  had  the  slightest 
doubt  about  Robert's  reply. 

."  My  !  "  said  Bob  Turner,  good-naturedly, 
"  I  can't  do  it." 

Tip  sat  next,  and  something  in  his  face 
made  Mr.  Burrows  put  the  question  to  him, 
though  he  had  nearly  resolved  to  waste  no 
more  time  in  the  matter. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  153 

"  Can  you  do  this,  Edward  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Tip,  promptly  and  proud- 
ly; "lean." 

And  no  nobler  figures  or  firmer  lines  did 
chalk  ever  make  on  a  blackboard,  than  was 
made  while  that  troublesome  example  was 
being  done. 

He  was  roused  from  his  flutter  of  satisfac- 
tion by  hearing  Mr.  Burrows'  voice. 

"  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  lesson, 
any  of  you  ?  " 

"I'm  sure  1  don't,"  answered  Bob,  still 
good-naturedly. 

Mr.  Burrows  was  growing  utterly  out  of 
patience ;  this  same  scene  had  been  acted  too 
often  to  be  endured  longer.  He  turned  back 
to  the  first  pages  in  the  book. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  at  last ;  "  you  may 
take  the  first  page  in  addition,  to-morrow 
morning,  and  we'll  see  if  you  can  be  made  to 
know  anything  about  that." 


154  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

Tip's  hopes  fell ;  his  heart  was  as  heavy 
as  lead.  Not  one  of  the  others  cared  ;  they 
were  used  to  it ;  so  indeed  was  he,  only  now 
he  was  trying,  he  did  so  long  to  go  on  ;  just 
when  he  was  working  so  hard,  to  be  put 
away  back  to  the  beginning  again,  made  him 
feel  utterly  disgraced. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  Tip."  Mr.  Burrows'  eye 
fell  first  on  him,  then  on  the  neatly  and 
correctly  worked  example  ;  then  he  turned, 
and  asked,  "  Charlie  Wilcox,  on  what  page 
is  your  arithmetic  lesson  for  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  We  commence  multiplication,  sir,"  an- 
swered Charlie,  a  bright  little  boy,  who 
belonged  to  a  bright  class,  that  did  not  idle 
over  any  pages  in  their  work. 

"  Edward,"  said  Mr.  Burrows,  turning 
back  to  Tip,  "you  have  done  well  to-day; 
you  mean  to  study,  after  this,  I  think  ;  I 
have  been  watching  you  for  some  time. 
The  third  arithmetic  class  take  the  first  page 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


155 


in  multiplication  for  their  ne±t  lesson,  to- 
morrow ;  you  may  take  your  place  in  that 
class,  and  remain  there  as  long  as  you  can 
keep  up  with  it." 

Now  Tip  was  too  much  astonished  to 
speak  or  move  ;  his  wildest  dreams  had  not 
taken  in  promotion,  at  least  Pot  for  a  long, 
long  time. 

Bob  Turner  leaned  over,  and  looked  at 
him  in  actual  sober  wonder,  that  Tip  was  to 
be  in  a  higher  class. 

Not  a  word  did  Tip  say.  He  did  not 
even  raise  his  eyes  to  his  teacher's  face  ;  and 
that  teacher  had  not  the  least  idea  how  the 
boy  before  him  felt.  He  did  not  know  how 
Tip's  heart  was  throbbing,  nor  how  he  was 
saying  over  and  over  to  himself,  "  Things  are 
different ;  they're  surely  different."  He  did 
not  know  how  those  few  words  of  his. 
spoken  that  winter  morning,  were  going  to 
help  make  the  boy  a  man. 


156 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


It  was  that  very  morning,  standing  in  that 
room  before  the  blackboard,  with  his  toe  on 
the  third  crack  from  the  wall,  that  Tip  re- 
solved to  have  an  education. 


CHAPTER 


"  THE  RICH    AND  POOR  MEET  TOGJITHKB;   THE  LORD   U  THB 
MAKLEK  OF  THEM  ALL." 


boys  gathered  around  the  stove 
before  school,  and  talked.  The 
boys,  —  not  all  of  them,  by  any 
means.  Only  that  small,  select 
number  who  were  above,  and  led  all  \he 
re^t.  Tip  wandered  outside  of  the  circle, 
feeling  very  forlorn ;  he  didn't  belong  any- 
where these  days.  Bob  and  his  friends  had 
very  nearly  deserted  him ;  there  was  scarce- 
ly any  of  their  fun  in  which  he  had  time  01 
desire  to  join,  and  the  other  cliques  in  school 

had  never  noticed  him  ;  so  he  stood  outside, 
157 


158 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


and  wondered  what  he  should  do  with  him- 
self. Howard  Minturn  wheeled  suddenly 
away  from  the  boys,  and  call-  to  him. 

"  Tip,  see  here." 

And  Tip  went  there. 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  "  he  asked  crossly ; 
for,  some  way,  he  felt  out  of  sorts  with  that 
company  of  finely-dressed  boys  around  the 
stove. 

"  Want  you  to  come  over  to-night.  It's 
my  birthday,  you  know,  and  some  of  the 
boys  are  coming  to  take  tea,  and  spend  the 
evening.  Can  you  come  ?  " 

Tip's  wide-open  eyes  spoke  his  astonish- 
ment. "  What  do  you  want  of  me  ?  "  he 
asked,  at  last,  speaking  boldly  just  what  he 
thought. 

"  Why,  I  want  you  to  come  and  help  have 
a  nice  time,"  returned  Howard,  with  great 
kindness,  but  just  a  little  condescension  in 
bis  tone, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  159 

Tip  heard  it,  and  his  bitterness  showed 
itself  a  little.  "  It's  a  new  streak  you've  got, 
ain't  it  ? "  he  said,  still  speaking  crossly. 
"  You've  had  lots  of  birthdays,  and  this  is 
the  first  one  I've  heard  of." 

"  Oh,  well !  "  said  Howard,  proudly,  flush- 
ing as  he  spoke ;  "  if  you  don't  want  to 
come,  why " 

Mr.  Burrows'  hand  was  laid  on  Howard's 
arm.  "  Don't  spoil  a  good,  noble  thing,  my 
boy ;  it  is  all  new  to  Edward ;  urge  him." 

Mr.  Burrows  spoke  low,  so  no  one  else 
could  hear  him,  and  turned  away. 

At  recess  Howard  sought  out  Tip. 

"  I  honestly  hope  you'll  come  to-night, 
Tip,  for  you're  a  good  fellow  to  play  games 
with,  and  the  boys  would  all  like  to  have 
you." 

Tip  had  quarrelled  with  his  ill-humor,  and 
it  had  vanished, 

**  I'll   come !  "   he  said,  in  a  cheery  tone ; 


160 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"  only  I'll  look  like  a  big  rag-bag  by  the  side 
of  you  fellows." 

"Never  mind,"  said  Howard,  turning  to 
join  the  boys,  "  you  come." 

Why  had  Howard  Miuturn  invited  him  to 
the  grand  birthday  party?  This  was  the 
question  that  puzzled  Tip.  Had  he  known 
the  reason,  it  would  have  been  like  this; 
Mr.  Minturn  had  never  quite  lost  sight  of 
Tip  since  the  circus.  He  wanted  to  help 
him ;  wanted  to  do  it  through  his  son,  — 
only  he  wanted  the  son  to  think  that  he  did 
it  himself.  Knowing  Howard  pretty  well, 
he  said,  when  they  were  seated  at  breakfast 
that  morning,  — 

"  I've  just  been  reading  about  a  real  hero." 
Howard  longed  to  be  a  hero ;  he  looked 
up  eagerly. 

"  Who  was  he,  father  ?    What  did  he  do  ?  " 

"  He  was  a  rich  young  man,  and  he  had  the 

courage  to  take  for  his  friend,  a  poor  fellow 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

who  hadn't  two  cents  to  his  name.  To  pay 
him,  the  time  came  when  he  was  proud  to 
be  noticed  by  the  great  man  who  was  once 
io  low." 

This  thought  was  still  iu  Howard's  mind 
when  he  walked  with  Ellis  to  school.  So 
when  Ellis  said,  "  there  goes  Tip  Lewis ; 
father  thinks  we  boys  ought  to  notice  him  ; 
he  is  trying  real  hard  nowadays  to  behave 
himself,  you  know,"  it  was  easy  for  Howard 
to  mingle  Tip  in  with  his  thoughts. 

"  Ellis,"  he  said,  after  a  moment's  silence, 
"  suppose  I  invite  him  to  come  'to  our  house 
to-night  ?  He's  a  splendid  good  fellow  to 
have  a  game ;  never  gets  mad,  you  know." 

"  S'pose  he'd  come  ?  "  asked  Ellis. 

"  Yes,  of  course  ;  jump  at  the  chance.  /'// 
do  it.  Our  boys  will  think  it  odd,  I  sup- 
pose ;  but  I  guess  I  have  courage  enough  to 
do  as  I  please." 


162  TIP  LEW  1H  AMD  HIS  LAMP. 

And  Howard  drew  himself  up  proudly, 
and  thought  of  his  father's  hero. 

So  this  was  why  Tip  was  invited  to  the 
birthday  gathering  at  the  grand  house  on  the 
hill. 

Mrs.  Lewis  sewed,  that  afternoon,  on  his 
jacket,  mending  it  up  more  neatly  than  ever 
before.  She  had  said  very  little  about  this 
invitation,  but  she  couldn't  help  feeling 
proud  and  gratified  over  it.  It  was  cer- 
tainly a  wonderful  jump  for  Tip,  from 
mingling  with  the  worst  and  lowest  boys 
in  town,  to  find  himself  taking  a  long 
stride,  and  reaching  the  very  top.  So  Mrs. 
Lewis  sewed,  and  Kitty,  as  she  sat  watch- 
ing the  ueedle  fly  back  and  forth,  spoke  her 
thoughts. 

"  All  of  the  boys  down  to  Mr.  Burrows' 
school  wear  white  collars  on  their  jackets." 

"  Well,"  answered  her  mother,  snappishly, 
'"•  what's  that  to  me  ?  S'posing  they  wear 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  El 8  LAMP.  163 

on  their  jackets  ?  I  could  get  him 
one  just  as  easy  as  t'other," 

It  was  a  sore  subject  with  Mrs.  Lewis. 
From  her  very  heart  she  wished  she  could 
dress  Tip  in  broadcloth,  to-day,  just  as  fine 
as  that  which  Howard  Minturn  himself  wore, 
and  a  collar  so  white  and  shiny  that  it  would 
fairly  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  others  to  look 
upon  it ;  but,  since  she  was  so  powerless  to 
do  what  she  would,  it  made  her  cross. 

The  bedroom  door  was  open,  and  Tip's 
father  heard.  By-and-by,  when  his  cough 
was  quieter,  he  called,  "  Kitty ! "  and  the 
little  girl  went  in  to  him.  "Is  the  jacket 
fixed,  Kitty?" 

"Yes." 

"  Does  it  look  nice  ?  " 

"  Some." 

"  Would  you  like  to  find  a  collar  for  Tip 
to  wear  ?  " 

"  Well  enough,"  said  Kitty,  wonderingly. 


164  TIP  LEW  IB  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

u  Well,  now,  I've  got  two  or  three  that  1 
don't  wear  any  more,  and  never  shall,  I 
guess  "  (this  last  spoken  sadly)  ;  "  s'pose  you 
take  one  of  'em  —  they're  in  that  square  box 
under  the  table  —  and  see  if  you  can't  sew  it 
on  the  jacket,  and  make  it  look  like  what 
the  other  boys  wear  ?  Now,  you  try  what 
you  can  do,  just  to  see  what  Tip  will  say." 

Kitty  went  slowly  over  to  the  box.  This 
was  new  work  for  her,  but  her  father  was 
very  pale  to-day,  and  those  sadly-spoken 
vords,  "and  never  shall,  I  guess,"  had 
quieted  her ;  so  she  made  no  answer,  but 
drew  out  one  of  the  collars.  It  looked  nice 
and  white,  and  shone,  too.  Mrs.  Lewis  had 
done  it  up  late  one  night,  with  tears  in  her 
eyes,  because  she  could  not  hope  that  it 
would  be  worn  again. 

"  What  are  you  doing  with  that  ? "  she 
asked,  sharply,  as  Kitty  appeared  from  the 
bedroom. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  165 

"  Father  wants  Tip  to  wear  it,"  answered 
Kitty. 

"  I'll  lend  it  to  him,"  spoke  the  sick  man ; 
*'  we  want  him  to  look  as  decent  as  we  can 
to-day,  you  know." 

Mrs.  Lewis  said  no  more,  but  it  seemed  to 
her  like  giving  up  one  more  hope  of  her 
husband's  life. 

Tip  came  down  from  the  garret,  with  neat- 
ly-brushed hair,  and  dressed  in  his  clean 
shirt,  nicely  mended  jacket,  and  the  Eliiny 
collar.  It  was  wonderful  what  a  difference 
that  collar  made ;  he  didn't  look  like  the 
same  boy. 

"Kitty,"  he  said,  his  face  all  aglow  with 
pleasure,  "  where  did  I  get  a  collar  '  " 

"  It's  father's  ;  he  said  wear  it,"  answered 
Kitty. 

"  And  how  did  it  get  on  my  jacket  ?  " 

"  Jumped  on,  likely." 

Kitty    spoke    in   a    short,   half    provoke^ 


166  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

tone ;  she  was  so  unused  to  doing  a  kind 
thing,  that  she  really  felt  half  ashamed  of  it. 
"  Well,"  said  Tip,  smiling  all  over  his  face, 
"  if  that's  so,  it's  the  best  jump  it  ever  took, 
and  I  thank  it  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart." 
Then  he  carried  his  bright,  good-natured 
face  out  of  the  little  house  in  the  hollow, 
and  went  towards  the  great  house  on  the 
hill. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  EVERT  IDLE  WORD  THAT  MEN  SHALL  SPEAK,  THEY  SHALL 
GIVE  ACCOUNT  THEREOF  IN  THE  DAY  OF  JUDGEMENT." 


•OWARD  MINTURN  was  a  king 
among  the  school-boys ;  so,  though 
some  of  them  nudged  each  other 
and  laughed  a  little  when  Tip 
swung  open  the  iron  gate  and  appeared  in  Mr. 
Minturn's  grounds  the  most  of  them,  seeing 
how  quickly  Howard  sprang  forward,  and 
how  heartily  he  greeted  the  new-comer,  did 
the  same.  Howard  was  his  father  over 
again  ;  if  he  did  a  thing  at  all  he  did  it  well. 
Every  moment  of  that  afternoon  was  enjoyed 
as  only  boys  know  how  to  enjoy  holidays  ; 


168  TIP  LEWIS  AJfJ)  IJ18  LAMP. 

the  whole  round  of  winter  fun  was  gone 
through  with,  —  coasting,  snowballing,  build- 
ing forts,  rolling  in  the  snow,  each  had  their 
turn. 

Tip  was  not  one  whit  behind  the  rest  in 
all  these  matters,  and  if  ever  boy  enjoyed  an 
afternoon,  he  did  that  one.  The  sun  had 
set  in  its  clear,  cold  beauty,  and  the  sharp 
winter  night  was  coming  down ;  the  boys 
stood  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  waiting  for  Ellis 
and  his  sled,  which  were  at  the  top  ;  they 
came  at  last,  shooting  down  the  glassy  sur- 
face. 

"Hurry  up,"  called  out  Howard,  as  he 
spun  along  ;  "  what  the  mischief  became  of 
you  ?  We  thought  you  had  gone  to  hunt  up 
Sir  John  Franklin  and  crew." 

"  Hurry  down,  I  should  say  you  meant," 
answered  Ellis,  guiding  his  sled  skilfully 
around  the  curve,  and  springing  to  his  f*««t 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  169 

"'  1  waited  for  the  rest  of  you  ;  thought  you 
were  coining  back." 

"No,"  said  Howard,  "we  just  ain't;  we 
appointed  a  committee  to  find  out  how  many 
were  frozen  up  altogether  entirely ;  and  found 
that  every  single  one  of  us  were ;  so  we're 
going  in  to  the  library-fire  to  get  thawed  out 
by  tea-time." 

"  All  right,"  said  Ellis,  shouldering  his 
skaies  ;  "  Howard,  where's  your  skates  ?  " 

"  Oh,  bother !  they're  at  the  top  of  that 
awful  hill ;  never  mind,  you  walk  on  slowly, 
ind  I'll  run  back  and  get  them." 

The  boys  obeyed,  and  Ellis  Holbrook  was 
just  swinging  open  the  little  gate  that  led  to 
Mr.  Minturn's  grounds,  when  Howard  called, 
as  he  ran  down  the  hill,  "  Hold  on !  Don't  go 
that  way,  it  will  lead  you  right  through  the 
deepest  snow  there  is  ;  take  the  big  gate." 
And  by  the  time  he  reached  them  panting 
and  breathless,  they  were  at  the  big  gate. 


170  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP 

"  This  is  jolly,"  said  Will  Bailey,  throw- 
ing  himself  into  a  great  arm-chair  before  the 
glowing  fire.  "  My !  I  believe  I'm  a  snow- 
ball." 

•'You'd  have  been  an  icicle  if  you  had 
gone  the  way  Ellis  was  leading  you ;  why,  the 
snow  is  so  high,"  said  Howard,  raising  his 
hand  almost  on  a  level  with  his  head. 

Ellis  laughed.  "  I'm  sure  I  thought  I  was 
going  right,"  he  said :  "I  must  have  been 
thinking  of  yesterday's  lesson  in  Sunday 
school,  — '  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate." 

"  Ho,"  said  Will  Bailey,  "  for  that  matter, 
one  gate  is  as  straight  as  the  other." 

"You  don't  understand  the  Bible,  my  boy," 
said  Howard,  laying  his  hand  on  Will's 
shoulder,  with  a  provoking  little  pat,  "  or 
you'd  know  that  strait  means  narrow." 

"  I'll  bet  a  dollar  that  you  were  no  wiser 
yourself  until  father  explained  the  verse  yes- 
terday," said  Ellis,  laughing. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  171 

Tip,  meantime,  stood  apart  flushed  arid  si- 
lent ;  he  knew  about  the  Sunday  lesson,  and 
remembered  the  solemn  talk  which  Mr.  Hoi 
brook  gave  them ;  and  remembered  how  he 
urged  them,  while  they  were  young,  to  enter 
into  that  strait  gate;  he  felt  shocked  and 
troubled  at  the  sound  of  Ellis's  careless  words. 

"  I  know  one  thing,"  he  said,  abruptly. 

"  Do  you  ? "  said  Will  Bailey,  in  a  mocking 
tone.  "That's  very  strange!"  WiU  felt 
above  Tip,  and  took  care  to  let  him  know  it. 

Ellis  turned  a  quick,  indignant  glance  on 
him  ;  then  spoke  to  Tip  in  a  kind  and  inter- 
ested tone  :  "  What  were  you  going  to  say, 
Tip." 

"  That,  if  I  were  the  minister's  son,  1 
wouldn't  make  fun  of  the  Bible." 

Ellis's  face  was  crimson  in  an  instant. 
*  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? "  he  asked, 
haughtily. 

"  Just  what  I  say,"  was  Tip's  cool  reply. 


172 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"•  Do  you  pretend  to  say  that  1  make  fun 
oJ  the  Bible  ?  " 

•'  Humph  !     Didn't  I  hear  you  ?  " 

"  No  ! "  said  Ellis,  in  a  heat,  "  you  didn't ; 
und  I'd  thank  you  not  to  say  so  neither." 

"  Well,  now,"  said  Tip,  "  I'll  leave  it  to  any 
boy  here  if  you  didn't.  When  a  fellow 
takes  a  thing  in  the  Bible  and  twists  it 
around,  and  makes  believe  it  means  some 
little  silly  thing  that  it  don't  mean  at  all, 
I  call  that  making  fun." 

"  Poh  ? "  said  Howard,  coming  to  the 
rescue  of  his  friend.  "  What  a  fuss  you're 
making  about  nothing.  You're  getting  wise, 
aren't  you,  Tip  ?  Ellis  was  only  saying  that 
verse  in  fun,  just  as  lots  of  people  do. 
I've  heard  good  men  quote  the  Bible  and 
laugh  over  it." 

"Can't help  that,"  said  Tip,  boldly;  "I  say 
it's  wicked,  and  Ellis  Holbrook's  father 
says  so  too.  I  heard  him  tell  Will  Bailey 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


178 


</nce  that  folks  ought  to  be  very  careful  how 
they  said  things  that  were  in  the  Bible." 

"  Did  he  tell  you  to  go  around  preaching 
for  him  through  the  week  ?  How  much  does 
he  pay  you  for  your  services  ?  Come,  let's 
hear." 

This  was  said  in  Will  Bailey's  most  dis- 
agreeable tone.  Before  Tip  had  time  to 
answer,  Ellis  spoke  again,  — 

"  Well,  I  don't  pretend  to  be  as  good  as 
some  people  are,  but  I  really  can't  see  any 
awful  wickedness  in  anything  that  I've  said 
to-night." 

"  Neither  can  anybody  else,  except  Tip," 
said  Will,  "  and  he's  good,  you  know ;  he 
never  does  anything  wrong,  except  to  tell 
lies  and  swear,  or  some  little  matters." 

Ellis  was  an  honest  boy.  "  No,"  he  said 
gravely,  "  there  is  no  use  in  saying  what 
isn't  true,  for  the  sake  of  helping  my  side 
along.  Tip  don't  do  either  of  those  things 


174 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI 6  LAMP. 


nowadays,  I  believe;  but  I'm  sure  I  don\ 
thank  him  for  his  good  opinion  of  me." 

Howard  was  glad  at  this  moment  to  heai 
the  tea-bell  peal  through  the  house,  for  the 
boys  were  growing  cross.  .  Most  of  them  had 
been  so  astonished  at  the  bold  stand  which 
Tip  had  taken,  that  they  said  nothing,  only 
gathered  round,  and  waited  to  see  what 
would  come  next.  Howard  sprang  up, — 
u  There's  something  I,  for  one,  am  ready  for ; 
come,  boys,"  —  and  he  led  the  way  to  the 
dining-room.  Oh,  that  dining-room,  with 
its  bright  lights  and  splendid  table,  was 
such  a  wonderful  sight  to  Tip !  It  was  a 
very  nice  birthday  supper,  —  plates  of  warm 
biscuit,  platters  of  cold  chicken,  dishes  of 
beautiful  honey,  silver  cake-baskets,  filled 
with  heavily-frosted  cake.  Tip,  for  one, 
had  never  seen  such  a  sight  in  his  life  before, 
and  he  was  so  bewildered  with  the  dazzle 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

and  glitter  that  he  didn't  know  which  way 
to  turn. 

"  Howard,"  said  Mrs.  Minturn,  turning  to 
her  son,  after  she  had  welcomed  his  friends, 
"  do  you  want  your  father  to  take  the  head 
of  the  table,  or  would  you  and  the  boys  pre- 
fer having  the  room  to  yourselves  ?  " 

"No,  ma'am"  answered  Howard,  with 
energy ;  "  we  want  you  and  father  both. 
I  guess  I  want  you  to  my  party,  whoever 
else  I  have." 

Tip  watched  the  bright  light  on  Howard's 
face  with  surprise,  —  how  much  he  seemed 
to  love  his  mother,  and  how  much  she 
loved  him,  —  how  queer  it  was.  The  sup- 
per was  a  great  success ;  the  boys  forgot 
their  excitement  and  ill-humor,  and  enjoyed 
everything. 

It  was  almost  nine  o'clock,  the  hour  when 
it  was  generally  understood  that  the  party 
was  to  break  up.  The  boys  had  been  very 


176  TIP  LEW1B  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

merry  ail  the  evening,  the  discussion  which 
had  taken  place  just  before  tea,  seemed  to 
have  been  forgotten,  save  by  Ellis,  whov 
genial  and  hearty  enough  with  the  others, 
was  cold  and  haughty  to  Tip.  Still  they 
kept  apart,  and  the  fun  had  gone  on  famous 
ly.  There  was  a  sudden  lull  in  the  uproar 
when  Mr.  Minturn  opened  the  door. 

"  Are  the  walls  left  ? "  he  asked,  coming 
forward. 

"  The  walls  ? "  said  Ellis,  inquiringly  ; 
"  why,  sir,  did  you  expect  to  miss  tLem  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  had  some  such  fears,  but  I  see 
they're  all  right.  What  are  you  up  to  ?  " 

"  Ellis  was  telling  a  story,  that's  what  we 
were  laughing  at  when  you  came  in,"  said 
Howard.  "  Go  on  El.  —  never  mind  father, 
he  likes  to  hear  stories. 

*'  No,"  said  Ellis,  blushing  crimson,  "  I 
think  I'll  be  excused." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  177 

"  Go  ahead,"  said  Mr.  Minturn,  "  I'm  very 
fond  of  stories." 

•'  I  was  only  telling,  sir,  how  Joe  Barnes 
talked  to  his  father  when  I  was  down  there 
this  morning." 

"  Yes,  and  father,  you'd  be  perfectly  aston- 
ished to  hear  him,"  chimed  in  Howard.  "I 
never  heard  a  fellow  go  on  so  hi  my  life  ; 
he  makes  fun  of  every  single  thing  his  father 
says." 

"Do  you  think  there  is  anything  very 
surprising  in  that  ? "  asked  Mr.  Minturn, 
coolly. 

"  Surprising !  I  guess  you'd  think  so. 
Why,  when  his  father  is  talking  to  him  real 
soberly,  he  mimics  him,  and  laughs  right 
in  his  face." 

"  But  I  shouldn't  suppose  you  would  thin* 
there  was  anything  strange  about  that." 

The  boys  looked   puzzled.      "  Why   Mt 


178  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

Minturn ! "  said  Ellis,  "  wouldn't  you  think 
it  strange  if  Howard  should  do  so  ?  " 

"  Well,  no ;  I  don't  know  as  I  should  have 
any  reason  to  be  astonished." 

Howard  looked  not  only  surprised,  but 
very  much  hurt.  "  I'm  sure,  father,"  he  said 
in  a  voice  which  trembled  a  little,  "  I  didn't 
know  I  was  so  rude  to  you  as  all  that." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Minturn  you  never  have 
been,  but  I  rather  expect  you  to  commence. 
I  shall  have  no  reason  to  be  surprised  if 
you  and  Ellis  and  Will  Bailey,  and  a  host 
of  others,  all  go  to  making  fun  of  what  your 
fathers  say  to  you  after  this." 

The  boys  seemed  perfectly  astonished. 
"  /,  for  one,"  said  Ellis  Holbrook,  proudly, 
*  tliink  too  much  of  my  father,  to  be  in  any 
men  danger." 

"  You  do  ? "  said  Mr.  Minturn  ;  "  well, 
now,  I  am  amazed.  I  supposed  you  would 
be  the  very  worst  one." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  179 

Howard  left  the  table  and  came  over  to 
«  lere  his  father  had  seated  himself. 

"  Father,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked, 
in  an  earnest,  anxious  tone. 

'•'  Why,  I  mean,"  said  his  father,  "  that  I 
wa  s  in  that  room  over  there  just  before  tea, 
and  I  heard  the  discussion  which  came  up 
between  you  boys,  and  I  came  to  the  con- 
clutrion  that  boys  who  thought  it  such  a 
little  matter  to  make  fun  of  solemn  words 
which  God  has  said  to  them,  need  not  be 
expected  to  show  much  respect  for  what 
their  father  or  anybody  else  said." 

A  perfect  stillness  settled  over  the  boys 
at  these  words,  and  not  only  Ellis  Hoi- 
brook's  cheeks,  but  his  whole  face,  glowed. 

Howard  came  to  the  rescue  at  last,  very 
stammeringly,  "  But,  father  —  I  don't  think  — 
do  you  think  —  I  mean  —  well,  sir,  you 
know  Ellis  and  the  rest  of  us  didn't  mean 


180  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BjB  LAMP. 

to  make  fun  of  what  God  said.  Don't  you 
think  that  makes  a  difference  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure.  How  do  you 
know  that  Joe  Barnes  means  to  make  fun 
of  what  his  father  says  ?  " 

*'  He  acts  like  it,"  Howard  said. 

"  Exactly ;  and  so  do  you,  every  one  of 
you,  except  Tip.  I  don't  say,  boys,  that 
you  are  all  going  to  be  disrespectful  to  your 
elders  after  this  ;  I  only  say  I  don't  see  why 
your  earthly  friends  should  expect  more 
reverence  from  you  than  you  give  to  God." 

Boys  and  man  were  all  silent  for  a  little 
after  that,  until  Mr.  Minturn  broke  the  still- 
ness by  repeating,  reverently,  "  '  Enter  ye  in 
at  the  strait  gate.'  I  guess  you  all  know 
what  that  means.  I  would  like  to  know 
whether  there  is  a  boy  hear  who  thinks  he 
has  entered  in  at  that  gate." 

How  still  the  room  was  while  he  waited 
for  his  answer!  Tip  could  feel  his  heart 


TIP  LE&I8  AND  BIB  LAMP.  A<31 

throb  —  throb  —  with  loud,  distinct  beats  ; 
twice  he  tried  to  break  the  silence,  and 
couldn't.  At  last  he  found  voice,  "I  do, 
sir." 

Mr.  Minturu  turned  quickly.  "  What 
makes  you  think  so,  Tip  ?  " 

"  Because  I  love  Jesus,  and  I'm  trying  to 
do  what  he  says." 

Mr.  Minium's  voice  trembled  a  little. 
"  God  bless  you,  my  boy ;  try  to  get  all  the 
rest  to  go  through  the  same  gate." 

The  town  clock  struck  the  hour,  nine 
o'clock.  The  boys  made  a  move  to  separate. 
Tip  took  his  cap  and  walked  out  alone  in 
the  cold,  clear  starlight.  He  felt  quiet  and 
strong.  It  was  done  at  last,  he  had  taken 
his  stand  before  the  boys.  —  had  "  shown 
his  colors." 

They  all  knew  now  that  he  was  trying 
hard,  and  who  was  helping  him.  Things 
must  surely  be  different  after  this,  forever 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  AlTD  ALL  THINGS,  WHATSOEVER  YE  SHALL  ASK  IN  PRATER, 
BELIEVING,  YE  SHALL  RECEIVE." 


,  was  Kitty  forgotten  ? 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  If  ever  boy 
prayed  for  any  one,  Tip  prayed 
for  her.  His  very  soul  was  in  it  ; 
yet  thus  far  his  prayers  seemed  to  have  been 
in  vain.  The  lesson,  one  Sabbath  morning, 
was  on  "  God's  answers  to  prayer."  Tip 
listened  closely,  yet  with  an  unsatisfied  long- 
ing in  his  eyes. 

"  Mr.   Holbrook,"   he   said,   waiting  after 
the  rest  had  gone,  "is  there  time  for  just 
one  question  ?  " 
181 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI 8  LAMP.  183 

"  Yes,  for  two,  if  you  like,"  said  Mr. 
Holbrook,  sitting  down  again ;  "  what  is  it, 
Edward  ? " 

"  I  want  to  know  why  God  don't  answer 
folks'  prayers  right  away  ?  " 

Mr.  Hoibrook  smiled.  "  If  your  questions 
are  all  as  hard  as  that,  Edward,  I  don't  think 
there  will  be  time  for  another  to-day.  But 
there  may  be  several  reasons  ;  we  will  try  to 
find  them.  Sometimes  God  doesn't  answer 
our  prayers  at  once,  simply  to  try  our  faith  , 
to  see  whether  we  are  willing  to  take  him  at 
his  word,  and  keep  on  asking,  until  he  is 
ready  to  give ;  or  whether  we  will  grow 
tired  in  a  little  while,  and  give  it  up.  "  And 
sometimes  we  spend  all  our  strength  in  pray- 
ing, and  don't  work  ;  then,  often,  we  don't 
believe  we  shall  get  what  we  are  praying  for. 
Do  you  understand  me  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  answerd  Tip,  promptly. 

"  Well,  let  me  see  if  I  can  make  it  plainer. 


184  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

For  whom  are  you  praying,  Edward,  that 
you  are  troubled  this  morning  because  you 
have  not  been  heard  ?  " 

"  For  Kitty  ;  I  have  been,  this  long  time. 
Kitty's  my  sister,  and  I  want  her  to  love 
Jesus  ;  but  it  don't  seem  to  do  any  good  for 
me  to  pray  for  her." 

"It  is  possible  that  God  may  be  trying 
your  patience,  but  not  probable  ;  I  think  we 
can  find  a  better  reason.  Do  you  work 
while  you  pray  ?  I  mean,  do  you  talk  with 
Kitty  ;  tell  her  what  you  are  praying  for,  — 
urge  her  to  come  to  Christ,  —  try  to  show 
her  how  ?  " 

Tip  looked  grave.  "  I  did  talk  a  little  to 
her  once,  but  it  didn't  seem  to  do  her  any 
good,  and  I  haven't  said  a  word  since." 

"  Did  you  ever  read  in  the  Bible  what  is 
said  about  such  praying,  about  saying,  '  De- 
part in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled,'  and 
not  doing  anything  ?  " 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  185 

\\  shook  his  head,  and  Mr.  Holbrook 
'aeid  out  his  hand  for  the  little  Bible. 

"  Let  me  find  it  for  you,  and  when  you  go 
iiome  you  may  read  it,  and  see  if  you,  in 
oraying  for  Kitty  and  never  saying  a  word 
co  her,  are  not  a  little  like  that  man.  Then 
there's  another  thing.  Do  you  really  believe 
that  God  will  do  what  you  ask  him  ?  You 
say  every  day  in  your  prayer,  '  O  God, 
make  Kitty  a  Christian,'  and  yet,  wouldn't 
you  be  very  much  astonished  if  Kilty  should 
come  to  you  to-day,  and  say,  '  I  want  to  be 
a  Christian  ?  '  Are  you  looking  out  for  any 
such  thing  ?  " 

Tip  generally  spoke  his  honest  thoughts. 

"  No,"  he  said  gravely,  "  I  ain't." 

The  church  bell  began  to  ring,  and  Mr. 
Hoiorook  arose.  "  I  think  if  you  begin  co 
work  and  pray  together,  and  then  ask  God 
to  help  you  believe,  tiiat  he  will  surely  do  as 


186  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP. 

he  has  promised  ;  that  you  will  soon  find 
your  prayers  answered." 

This  he  said  while  gathering  up  his  books 
ana  papers  ready  to  start,  and  then,  — 

"  Jidward.  wny  don't  you  come  to  our 
Thursday-evening  prayer-meetings  ?  " 

Tip's  eyes  were  full  of  astonishment. 

"  I  never  once  thought  of  it,"  he  said ; 
"why,  Mr.  Holbrook,  boys  don't  go,  do 
they  ?  " 

"  No,''  said  the  minister,  sadly  ;  "  the) 
don't,  because  I  don't  know  of  another  boy 
of  your  age  in  this  whole  town  who  loves  the 
Saviour.  Only  think  what  a  work  there  is 
for  you  to  do !  " 

Tip  went  home  with  his  brain  full  of  new 
thoughts.  No,  he  didn't  go  home  ;  he  only 
went  as  far  as  the  elm-tree,  and  there  lie  sat 
down  and  read  what  Mr.  Holbrook  had 
marked  in  his  Bible.  Yes,  that  was  just  the 
way  in  which  he  had  been  praying  for  Kit- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  187 

ty  ;  and  it  was  certainly  true,  as  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook  had  said,  nothing  could  surprise  him 
more  than  that  Kitty  should  really  and  truly 
come  to  Jesus. 

Before  he  went  from  under  the  tree  that 
day,  he  prayed  this  prayer :  "  O  God 
teach  me  to  believe  that  you  will  make  Kitty 
love  Jesus,  and  show  me  how  to  help  her." 

After  this,  of  course  he  looked  out  foi 
his  chances  in  which  to  work,  and  of  course 
he  found  them  ;  found  one  that  very  day. 
After  dinner  Kitty  wandered  off  by  herself 
Tip  watched  her,  and  she  took  the  road  lead- 
ing to  the  cemetery.  God  put  it  into  his 
heail  to  hurry  after  her  ;  so  when  he  came 
up  to  her,  where  she  sat,  on  a  large  stone 
which  she  had  rolled  very  near  to  Johnny's 
grave,  his  heart  was  beating  at  the  thought 
of  the  great  work  which  he  had  to  do. 

"  What  did  you  come  for  ?  "  said  Kitty, 
looking  up. 


188  TIP  LEWIS  AND  EI8  LAMP. 

Tip  hesitated  a  minute,  then  told  the  plain 
truth. 

"  I  came  after  you." 

"  I  suppose  I  know  that ;  you  didn't  come 
before  me." 

"  I  mean  I  came  to  see  you." 

"  Well,  look  at  me  then,  and  go  off ;  I 
don't  want  you  here." 

Clearly,  whatever  was  to  be  said  must  be 
said  quickly,  and  Tip's  heart  was  very  full 
of  its  message,  so  his  voice  was  tender. 

"  Oh,  Kitty,  I  came  to  ask  you  if  you 
wouldn't  be  a  Christian.  I  do  want  it  so, 
it  seems  as  if  I  couldn't  wait." 

Kitty  looked  steadily  and  gravely  at  her 
brother.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  '  be  a 
Christian  ? '  "  she  asked,  at  last. 

"I  mean,  love  Jesus,  and  do  as  he  says." 

"What'llllovehimfor?" 

"  'Cause  you  can't  help  it,  when  you  find 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  189 

out  how  much  he  loves  you,  and  all  the 
things  he  does  for  you." 

"  What  does  he  say  do  ?  " 

"  He  says  be  good ;  try  to  do  right  things 
all  the  tune." 

Kitty's  eyes  flashed.  "  Now  ain't  you 
mean !  "  she  said  angrily,  "  to  come  and  tell 
me  such  things,  when  you  know  I  ain't 
good,  and  can't  be  good.  Isn't  mother  ugly 
and  cross,  and  scolding  to  me  all  the  time  ? 
and  don't  I  have  to  work  and  work,  always, 
and  never  have  anything?  And  I'm  cross 
and  get  mad,  and  I  will,  too.  I  can't  help 
it." 

"  Oh,  but  Kitty  !  "  Tip  interrupted,  eager 
'y»  "  y°u  don't  know  about  it ;  he  helps  you, 
Jesus  does.  When  anything  is  the  matter, 
when  you  feel  cross  and  bad,  you  just  go 
and  kneel  down  and  tell  him  all  about  it, 
and  he  helps  you  every  time.  And  up  in 
heaven,  where  you  can  go  when  you  die, 


190  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

nobody  ever  gets  cross  and  scolds  ;  and  it's 
beautiful  there,  —  they  sing,  and  have  foun- 
tains, and  wear  gold  crowns,  and  —  and 
Johnny  is  there,  you  know,  and  I'm  going, 
and  I  do  want  you  to  come  along." 

Kitty's  face  had  been  growing  graver  and 
graver  with  every  word  her  brother  spoke, 
and  when  at  last  he  stopped,  with  his  eyes 
turned  towards  Johnny's  little  grave,  Kitty's 
shawl  was  crumpled  up  in  her  two  hands, 
and  held  tightly  to  her  face ;  and  she  was 
crying,  not  softly  and  quietly,  but  rocking 
herself  back  and  forth,  and  giving  way  to 
great  sobs  which  shook  her  little  form. 

Tip  looked  distressed ;  he  didn't  know 
what  to  say  next;  he  stooped  down  to  her 
at  last,  and  spoke  softly,  "  Oh,  Kitty  !  1 in 
sorry  for  you ;  if  you  only  would  love  Jesus 
it  would  make  you  happy." 

"  I  want  to,  I  want  to,"  sobbed  Kitty  ;  "  I 
would  if  I  knew  how." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  1 

Tip's  heart  gave  a  bound  of  jcy  ;  a  sur 
prised  bound,  too,  —  he  had  not  expected  it 
so  soon. 

"  It's  easy,  Kitty  ;  it  is,  truly,  if  you  only 
just  ask  God  to  do  it ;  you  see  he  can  hear 
every  word  you  say  ;  he  hears  you  now,  but 
he  wants  you  to  ask  him  about  it.  Say, 
Kitty,  I'll  go  off  and  leave  you,  —  I'll  go 
where  I  can't  see  nor  hear  you, — then  you 
kneel  down  and  tell  Jesus  about  it,  and  he'll 
help  you." 

"  Stop ! "  said  Kitty,  as  Tip  was  turning 
away  ;  "  wait,  I  don't  know  what  to  say." 

"  Why,  just  tell  him,  just  as  you  did  me, 
and  ask  him  to  help  you.  You  see,  Kitty, 
you  can't  do  a  thing  without  that ;  he's  got 
to  look  after  you  every  single  minute,  or  it's 
nothing  at  all." 

Tip  went  away,  and  Kitty  was  left  alone ; 
alone  in  the  spot  where  her  brother  had  first 
found  the  Saviour.  She  felt  very  strangely ; 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

she  had  been  left  there  alone  to  otter  her 
first  prayer. 

Kitty  had  never  been  taught  to  kneel 
down  by  her  bedside  every  evenipg,  and 
repeat  "  Our  Father,"  it  was  all  new  aiid 
strange  to  her.  She  sat  still  a  long  time, 
with  the  sober  look  deepening  on  her  face. 
At  last  she  got  down  on  her  knees  ana  rested 
her  little  hard  hands  on  the  hard  snow 
which  covered  Johnny's  bed,  and  she  said, 
"Jesus,  I  want  to  be  what  Tip  says.  I 
want  to  love  you  if  you'll  let  me.  Nobody 
loves  me,  I  guess.  Tip  says  you'll  help  me 
all  the  time.  If  you  will,  I'll  try." 

After  she  had  said  this,  slowly  and 
thoughtfully,  stopping  long  between  each 
sentence,  she  didn't  feel  like  rising  up ;  she 
wanted  to  say  more,  so  she  repeated  it,  add- 
ing, "  Tip  says  I  must  be  good.  I  can't  be 
good,  but  I'll  try." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


193 


Over  and  over  was  the  simple,  earnest 
prayer  repeated. 

Tip  did  not  go  back  to  Johnny's  grave  ;  he 
took  a  side  road  down  through  the  edge  of 
the  grove,  and  so  went  home  ;  and  when  he 
reached  home,  he  went  up  to  his  attic-room, 
and  knelt  down  and  prayed  for  Kitty  as  only 
those  can  pray,  who  have  been  working,  as 
well  as  asking,  for  what  they  want. 

Kitty  was  stirring  the  pudding  for  supper 
when  he  saw  her  again  ;  stirring  away  hard 
at  the  heavy  mass  wb'.ch  grew  thicker  and 
harder  to  stir  ever7  mo  Lent.  He  went  over 
to  her. 

"  Kitty,  let  me  do  this,"  and  she  gave  up 
the  pudding-stick.  Tip  stirred  away. 

By-and-by  she  leaned  over  the  kettle  to 
put  in  some  salt,  and  as  she  sprinkled  it 
around  she  caught  his  eager,  longing  look. 
She  nodded  her  head.  "  I  guess  he  heard,'' 
she  said,  softly. 


194  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

•'I  know  he  did,"  Tip  answered,  his  eyes 
very  bright;  in  his  heart  he  sang  "  Glory" 
And  the  angels  in  heaven  sang  for  joy ;  for 
that  night  there  had  been  laid  aside  a  white 
robe  and  a  crown  of  gold  for  Kitty  Lewis. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WHOSOEVER  THEREFORE  SHALL,  CONFESS  ME  BKFORB 
MBN,  HIM  WILL  I  CONFESS  ALSO,  BEFORE  MY  FATHER  WHICH 
13  IN  HEAVEN." 

was  very  undecided  what  to  do. 
He  went  ovrt  on  the  steps  and 
looked  about  him  in  the  moon- 
light ;  thon  he  came  in  and  took  a 
long  look  out  of  the  window  ;  at  last  the 
question,  whatever  it  was,  seemed  to  be 
settled;  he  turned  with  a  resolute  air  tr 
Kitty,  who  was  washing  the  tea-dishes. 

"  Kitty,  don't  you  want  to  go  to  prayer 
meeting  up  at  the  church  ?  " 

Kitty  dropped  her  cup  back  into  the  dish 
106 


TIP  LEWIS   AND  R IB  LAMP. 

pan,  and  stood  looking  at  him  a  good  deal 
surprised  ;  at  last  she  said,  — 

"  I'd  like  to,  Tip,  but  I  don't  look  decent  tc 
go  anywhere.  I've  only  this  dress  and  my 
old  hood." 

" I  wouldn't  mind  that,"  said  Tip.  "I've 
only  this  awful  old  jacket  either,  but  I  mean 
to  go  ;  hurry  up  the  dishes,  and  let's  go." 

"Well,"  said  Kitty  at  last,  "I  will;  but 
what  will  mother  say  ?  " 

"I'll  fix  that."  And  Tip  stepped  softly 
into  the  bedroom.  "  Are  you  better  to-night, 
father  ?  " 

"  Not  much  better,  I  guess.  How's  arith- 
metic to-day  ?  " 

"  First-rate ;  Mr.  Burrows  said  I  was  get- 
ting ahead  fast.  Mother,  may  Kitty  go  out 
with  me  to-night?  I'm  going  up  to  the 
church  to  prayer-meeting  ?  " 

Mrs.  Lewis  turned  from  the  basket,  where 
she  had  been  hunting  long,  and  as  yet  in 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  197 

vain  for  a  piece  of  flannel,  and  bent  a  search- 
ing bewildered  look  on  her  son. 

"  I  don't  care,"  she  said  at  last ;  "  she  can 
go  if  she  likes ;  but  I  doubt  if  she  will." 

She  did,  however  ;  in  ten  minutes  more  the 
two  were  walking  along  the  snowy  path. 
Kitty  was  sober.  "  Tip,"  she  said,  presently, 
"  don't  you  never  get  real  awful  mad,  so  mad 
that  you  feel  as  if  you'd  choke  if  you 
couldn't  speak  right  out  at  somebody  ?  " 

"  Well,  no,"  said  Tip,  "  not  often ;  yes,  I 
do  too ;  I  get  mad  at  Bob  Turner  sometimes, 
mad  enough  to  pitch  him  into  a  snow-bank ; 
but  it  don't  last  long." 

"  Well,  mine  does,"  said  Kitty ;  "  I  begin 
in  the  morning ;  something  makes  me  cross, 
and  I  keep  on  getting  crosser  and  Grosser 
every  minute,  till  it  seems  as  if  I  should  fly. 
Do  you  suppose  I'll  always  do  just  so  ? " 

"  No,"  answered  Tip,  positively,  "  I  don't. 
You  keep  on  trying  a  little  bit  harder  every 


198  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

ay,  and  by-and-by  you'll  find  that  you  don't 
get  cross  more  than  half  as  easy  as  you  used 
to.  I  know  it  will  be  so,  because  I've  tried 
it  in  other  things  ;  when  I  first  began  to  be- 
have myself  in  school  it  was  the  hardest 
work  —  my  !  You  can't  think  how  I  wanted 
to  whisper,  and  things  kept  happening  all 
the  time  to  make  me  laugh,  but  I  just  kept 
trying,  and  now  I  hardly  ever  think  of  whis- 
pering. Kitty,  does  mother  know  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Kitty,  "she  don't." 

"  If  I  were  you  I'd  tell  her." 

"  Oh,  Tip,  I  can't ;  she  never  looks  at  me 
without  scolding  me ;  I  can't  talk  to  her 
about  this." 

"  Yes,  you  can  ;  I'd  surely  do  it  if  I  were 
you  ;  it  will  be  a  great  deal  easier  to  try  hard 
if  mother  knows  you  are  trying." 

They  were  almost  at  the  church  door. 

"  Kitty,"  said  Tip,  suddenly,  "  let's  pray 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  199 

for  father  to-night.     I've  been  praying   for 
him  this  long  time  ;  you  help  me." 

Step  by  step,  God  was  leading  Tip  Lewis 
in  the  narrow  way.  No  sooner  was  he 
seated  in  the  bright,  warm  little  room,  and 
had  listened  to  Mr.  Holbrook's  earnest 
prayer,  that  every  Christian  there  might  do 
something  for  Christ  that  night,  than  the 
struggle  began ;  what  ought  he  to  do  for 
Christ?  People  all  around  him  were,  one 
after  another,  offering  prayer  or  saying  a 
few  words.  Ought  he  to  ?  Could  he  ?  Oh, 
he  couldn't  ?  Who  would  want  to  listen  to 
him  ?  It  wouldn't  do  any  good.  There  was 
Mr.  Burrows  right  in  front  of  him,  he  would 
be  ashamed  of  him,  perhaps.  Yes,  but  then, 
ought  he  not  to  own  his  Saviour  ?  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook  had  spoken  of  the  verse,  "  Whosoever 
will  deny  me  before  men,"  and  had  made 
the  meaning  very  plain.  Mr.  Minturn  had 
just  prayed  that  no  one  there  might  be 


200  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

ashamed  of  Christ  The  end  of  it  all  was. 
that  Tip  slipped  off  his  seat  down  on  his 
knees,  and  said,  "Our  Father  which  art  in 
Heaven,  hallowed  be  thy  name.  Show  me 
how  to  pray.  I  don't  want  to  deny  Christ. 
I  want  to  love  him.  I  want  the  boys  in  our 
school,  and  my  father,  and  everybody  to 
love  him.  I'll  try  to  work  for  Jesus.  I'll  try 
to  work  for  him.  Help  me  every  day,  and 
forgive  my  sins  for  Jesus'  sake.  Amen." 

Tip  had  never  felt  so  near  to  God  as  he 
did  when  he  arose  from  his  knees.  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook's  voice  trembled  with  feeling,  when, 
soon  after,  he  prayed  for  the  young  disciple 
who  had  early  taken  up  his  cross. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  the  minister 
pressed  his  way  through  the  little  company 
of  people  who  were  waiting  to  speak  with 
him. 

"  Good  evening,  all,"  he  said,  hurriedly , 
"  excuse  me  to-night,  brother,"  to  Mr.  Min- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  201 

turn,  who  would  have  stopped  him  any  way  , 
"  I  want  to  speak  to  some  people  before  they 
get  away  from  me," — and  those  who  watched, 
saw  him  hurry  on  until  he  overtook  Tip  Lewis 
and  his  sister. 

"  Good  evening,  Edward ;  this  is  Kitty, 
I  think.  How  do  you  do,  my  little  girl  ? 
Edward,  do  you  know  such  a  Bible  verse  as 
this :  '  I  love  the  Lord,  because  he  has  heard 
my  voice  and  my  supplication  ? ' ' 

"  No,  sir,"  answered  Tip,  eagerly ;  "  is 
there  such  a  verse  ?  " 

"  Yes,  somewhere  in  the  Psalms  you  will 
find  it.  I  don't  remember  just  where.  Can 
you  feel  the  truth  of  it  when  you  think  of 
your  sister  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  can.     God  did  hear  me." 

"  And  you  think  you  love  Jesus  to-night, 
Kitty  ?  " 

Kitty  felt  a  great  awe  for  the  minister,  and 


202 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


her  "yes,  sir."  was  low,  and  spoken  in  a 
timid  voice. 

"  What  makes  you  think  so  ?  " 

"I  —  I  don't  know ;  only  I  pray,  and  he 
hears  me,  and  I  like  to." 

"  Well,  now,  Kitty,  almost  the  first  thing 
which  people  think  of  after  they  have  found 
Jesus,  is  something  to  do  for  him  ;  they  be- 
gin to  look  around  to  see  what  they  can  find. 
What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir  ;  I  haven't  got  anything 
I  can  do." 

"  Ah !  that's  a  mistake ;  you  can  find  plenty 
of  work  if  you  look  for  it ;  only  don't  look 
too  far,  because  it  is  the  little  bits  of  things, 
which  come  right  in  your  way,  that  Jesus 
wants  you  to  do.  When  you  brush  up  the 
room,  and  set  the  table  neatly,  and  brighten 
the  fire,  and  do  little  thoughtful  things  that 
help  your  mother,  —  then  you  are  pleasing 
Jesus,  doing  work  for  him.  Isn't  it  pleasant 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


203 


to  think  that  in  all  those  little  things  he  is 
watching  over  you,  and  that  you  make  him 
glad  when  y»u  do  them  well  ?  Do  you  know 
that  one  of  God's  commands  is,  •  Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother  ? ' : 

"  No,"  said  Kitty,  softly. 

"  It  is ;  those  are  the  very  words ;  Edward 
can  find  them  for  you  in  the  Bible,  —  s.nd 
honor  means  more  than  obey  ;  it  means,  try 
to  please  them  in  the  very  smallest  thing:*." 

They  were  very  near  thb  corner  where  Mr. 
Holbrook  must  leave  them.  He  laid  his  hand 
gently  on  Tip's  shoulder,  a^  he  said,  "  Speak- 
ing of  Bible  verses,  Edward,  I  have  one  for 
you  this  evening,  in  the  Saviour's  own  words: 
'  Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men, 
him  will  I  also  confess  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.'  Good-night." 

Tip  understood  him,  and  there  was  a  bright 
look  hi  his  eyes.  The  two  walked  on  in  si- 
lence for  a,  little,  —  presently  Kitty  said,  '*  I 


204  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

guess  Mr.  Holbrook  don't  know  just  how 
mother  is,  or  he  wouldn't  talk  so." 

"  Yes,  but,"  said  Tip  quickly,  "  God  knew 
all  about  it  always,  you  know  ;  and  yet  he 
said  that  verse." 

"  So  he  did,"  answered  Kitty,  giavely. 


CHAPTER  XVH. 

''  BEHOLD  HOW  GREAT  A  MATTER  A  UTTLK  FIKJB  KIJTDL.ETH.  " 

AH,"  said  Will  Bailey,  you're  fooling, 
Howard  Minturn ! " 

"  As  true  as  I  live,  I'm  not,"  an- 
swered    Howard,    earnestly  ;  "    you 
can  ask  Mr.  Burrows." 

"What's  up?"  inquired  Ellis  Holbrook, 
joining  the  two. 

"  Why.,  Howard  is  telling  the  biggest  yarn 
you  ever  heard ;  he  says  Tip  Lewis  went 
to  prayer-meeting  last  night  and  made  a 
prayer." 

"  Tip  Lewis !  "  and  Ellis  Holbrook's  voice 
206 


206 


TIP  LEW  IB  AND  BIS  LAV  P. 


was  full,  not  only  of  surprise,  but  scorn ;  "  I 
should  like  to  hear  him." 

"  Well,  it's  true,"  repeated  Howard  ;  "  my 
father  told  us  about  it  this  morning,  and  he 
said  it  was  a  good  prayer  too  —  he  said, 
Ellis,  that  your  father  couldn't  keep  the  tears 
out  of  his  eyes  when  he  heard  him,  and  Mr. 
Burrows  walked  up  town  with  father,  and 
told  him  that  Tip  had  changed  wonderfully, 
that  he  was  one  of  the  best  boys  in  school." 

"  Well,"  said  Will  Bailey,  "  if  Tip  Lewis 
has  turned  saint,  I'll  give  up.  Why,  he's 
the  meanest  scamp  in  town,  —  my  father  says 
he's  bad  enough  for  anything." 

"  O  well  now,"  answered  Ellis,  "  there's 
no  use  in  being  stupid  enough  not  to  see  that 
what  Mr.  Burrows  says  is  true.  I  never 
saw  any  one  change  as  he  has  in  my  life, 
but  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  like  him  as  well  as  I 
did  before  he  was  so  awful  good  ;  he's  too 
nice  for  anything  nowadays." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  207 

"Especially  when  he  trips  you,  the  minis- 
ter's son,  up,  about  twisting  the  Bible.'* 

Ellis's  face  glowed,  but  he  was  an  honest 
boy.  "  He  was  right  enough  about  that," 
he  said,  promptly ;  "  my  father  says  it's 
wrong;  but  if  it  will  do  you  any  good  to 
know  it,  I  haven't  liked  Tip  so  well  since." 

"  Say,  Tip  !  "  said  Will  Bailey,  hailing  him 
at  recess,  "  come  here,  and  give  an  account 
of  yourself;  they  say  you  turned  parson 
last  night ;  did  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Tip,  with  the  greatest  good 
humor,  "  I  didn't." 

"  Didn't  you  apeak  in  meeting  ?  " 

A  quiet  gravity  spread  itself  over  Tip's 
face.  "  I  prayed  in  meeting,"  he  answered, 
soberly. 

"  Oh !  well,  what  did  you  pray  for  ?  come, 
let's  know." 

"  I  prayed  for  you.1'  Tip  spoke  with  quiet 
dignity. 


208 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"  Humph  !  Now  that's  clever,  certainly  ; 
much  obliged." 

And  Will  said  no  more. 

Certainly,  the  boys  had  never  talked  so 
much  about  any  prayer-meeting  in  their 
lives  as  they  did  about  this  one.  So  that 
was  the  way  it  commenced ;  such  a  little  fire 
kindled  it.  Tip  didn't  know  it ;  he  never 
found  it  out ;  probably  he  never  will,  until 
he  takes  his  crown  in  heaven.  From  the 
humble  little  prayer  which  Tip  had  offered, 
sprang  the  first  buddings  of  the  great  revival 
which  God  sent  down  to  them. 

"  Say,"  said  Howard  Minturn  to  Ellis,  on 
the  next  Thursday  evening,  "  let's  go  over  to 
prayer-meeting  to-night ;  I  really  am  dread- 
fully anxious  to  hear  Tip  speak." 

"No,"  answered  Ellis,  speaking  heartily, 
more  heartily  than  he  often  did  to  Howard, 
"  I'm  sure  I  don't  care  in  the  'east  to  hear 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


209 


him,  and  I  have  enough  to  do,  without  going 
there." 

Howard  was  determined  to  go,  and  to  find 
company. 

"  Will,  let's  go  to  meeting  to-night,"  he 
said,  the  next  time  he  came  across  Will 
Bailey. 

Will  looked  at  him  in -amazement.  "  What 
for  ? " 

"  To  hear  Tip." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Will,  "  good  !  I'U  go ;  let's 
get  a  lot  of  the  boys  and  go  over  ;  just  to 
encourage  him,  you  know." 

And  they  went.  Tip  and  Kitty  were 
there  again  ;  and  again,  with  Tip,  the  strug- 
gle had  to  be  gone  through ;  his  coward 
spirit  whispered  to  him  that  the  boys  would 
only  make  fun  of  him  if  he  said  a  word,  and 
it  would  do  more  harm  than  good.  His 
conscience  answered,  "  Whosoever  will  deny 
me  on  earth,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my 


210  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Father   which   is   in   heaven."     The  solemn 

• 

words  conquered,  and  again  Tip  knelt  down 
and  prayed. 

"  My !  "  said  Mr.  Minturn,  talking  with 
his  wife  after  they  reached  home,  "  when  I 
thought  of  the  bringing  up  which  that  boy 
has  had,  —  no  bringing  up  about  it,  he  has 
just  come  up,  the  easiest  way  he  could,  — 
but  when  I  heard  him  pray  to-night,  and 
then  thought  of  our  boy,  who  has  been 
prayed  for  and  watched  over  every  day  since 
he  was  born,  I  declare  I  felt  as  though  I 
would  give  all  I'm  worth  to  have  Howard 
stand  where  Tip  Lewis  does  now." 

Howard  heard  this,  as  he  waited  in  the 
sitting-room  for  his  father  and  mother ; 
heard  it  in  great  amazement,  and  at  first  it 
made  him  indignant.  The  idea  of  compar- 
ing him  with  Tip  Lewis !  Then  it  made 
him  sorrowful ;  his  father's  tones  were  so 
wad  ;  after  all  that  had  been  done  for  him, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  211 

it  was  hard  that  he  should  disappoint  his 
parents. 

He  listened  to  his  father's  prayer  that 
night  very  closely,  and  its  earnestness 
brought  the  tears  to  his  eyes.  Altogether, 
Howard  went  to  school  the  next  morning 
with  a  somewhat  sober  face,  and  took  no 
part  whatever  in  the  boys'  fun  over  the 
meeting. 

Mr.  Burrows'  heart  had  been  warmed  by 
the  voice  of  prayer  from  one  of  his  scholars, 
and  he  began  to  pray,  and  long  for  others 
of  them  to  work  also  ;  and  the  great  God, 
who  knows  the  beginning  and  the  end,  led 
his  first  words  of  anxiety  to  Howard  Min- 
turn.  They  stood  at  the  desk,  teacher  and 
scholar,  Howard  bending  over  his  slate. 

"  Can't  you  get  it  ?  "  Mr.  Burrows  asked. 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Howard,  are  yon  working  with  all  youi 
thoughts  to-day  ?  " 


212  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  No,  sir."  And  a  bright  flush  mounted 
to  his  forehead. 

"  What  is  it,  Howard  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir ;  not  much  of  anything, 
I  guess." 

"  Are  you  not  quite  satisfied  with  yourself 
to-day  ?  " 

"  Satisfied !  I  —  why —  I  don't  know  what 
you  mean,  sir  ;  I  have  tried  to  do  the  best  I 
could,  I  believe." 

"  Do  you  really  think  so,  Howard  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir/ 

"  Did  you  think  so  last  evening,  in  the 
prayer-meeting  ?  Can  a  boy,  who  is  as  well 
taught  as  you  have  been,  feel  that  he  is 
doing  as  well  as  he  can,  when  he  knows  that 
he  is  every  day  cheating  God  ?  " 

Howard's  face  fairly  burned. 

"  I  don't  understand  you,  sir." 

"  Don't  you  ?  "  and  Mr.  Burrows'  voice 
was  very  kind.  "  T  wish  that  God's  own 


TIP  LEWIS  AND 'BIS  LAMP, 


213 


Spirit  might  help  you  to  understand  it. 
Didn't  your  father  and  mother  promise  God, 
when  you  were  born,  to  try  to  'train  you  up 
for  him,  because  you  belonged  to  him,  and 
they  knew  it  ?  Now,  haven't  they  done  their 
duty  ?  is  it  their  fault  that  you  are  not  a 
Christian  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Then  it  comes  back  to  you.  You  belong 
to  God,  body  and  soul ;  he  made  you ;  he 
has  kept  you  ;  he  would  save  you,  only  you 
will  not  let  him.  You  can't  help  the  fact 
that  you  belong  to  him ;  all  you  can  do  is  to 
refuse  to  give  him  your  love,  and  let  him 
lead  you  to  heaven,  and  this  you  are  doing. 
Is  it  right  ?  " 

Howard  was  growing  haughty. 

"  I  don't  feel  the  need  of  any  such  things, 
Mr.  Burrows,"  he  answered  coldly. 

"  Suppose  you  don't,  does  that  help  the 
matter  any  ?  Does  it  change  the  fact  that 


214 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


you  belong  to  God ;  that  you  are  cheating 
him  out  of  his  own  property  ?  The  question 
I  ask  is,  are  you  doing  right  ? " 

Howard  stood,  with  eyes  fixed  on  his  slate, 
saying  nothing. 

"  Won't  you  answer  me,  Howard  ?  "  Mr. 
Burrows  asked  gently  ;  "  is  it  right  ?  " 

And  after  a  long,  long  silence,  the  boy's 
honest,  earnest  eyes  were  raised  to  his 
teacher's  face,  and  he  spoke  steadily. 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Are  you  willing  to  go  on  doing  wrong  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"Will  you  turn  now,  Howard,  and  start 
right  ?  " 

Now  came  another  long  silence.  Howard 
Miuturn,  the  honest,  faithful  boy,  always 
getting  a  little  nearer  right  than  any  of  the 
others,  had  been  condemned  by  his  own 
words,  and  knew  not  what  to  say.  At  last 
he  spoke.  "  I  can't  promise,  Mr.  Burrows.' 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


215 


"Howard!  such  an  answer  from  you,  to 
whom  I  have  only  needed  to  point  out  what 
was  right,  in  order  to  have  it  done !  " 

"  But  I  can't  trust  myself,  sir ;  I  shall  not 
feel  to-morrow  as  I  do  now." 

"  That  is,  you  feel  like  doing  your  duty  to- 
day, but  you  expect  if  you  wait  until  to-mor- 
row that  you  will  feel  less  like  it;  so  you 
mean  to  wait.  Is  that  right  ?  " 

The  silence  was  much  longer  this  time  ;  so 
long,  that  the  boys  began  to  look  curiously 
at  the  two  figures  over  by  the  desk,  and 
wonder  why  the  bell  was  not  rung.  But  at 
last  he  raised  those  clear,  truthful  eyes  once 
more. 

"  Mr.  Burrows,  I'll  try." 

And  the  next  Thursday  evening,  when, 
in  the  house  of  prayer  it  was  very  still,  be- 
cause Mr.  Holbrook  had  just  said,  "  Is  there 
not  one  here  to-night,  who  wants  us  to  pray 
for  him,  and  if  there  is,  will  he  not  let  us 


216 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


know  it  now  ?  "  suddenly  there  was  a  row  of 
astonished  faces  in  the  seat  where  the  school- 
boys were  sitting,  because,  from  among  them 
arose  Howard  Minturn,  and  his  face  was 
pale  and  grave,  and  his  voice  was  steady ; 
they  all  heard  his  words,  — 

"  I  want  to  be  a  Christian  ;  will  you  pray 
for  me  ?  " 

Oh,  wouldn't  they  !  Was  there  ever  such 
another  prayer  as  that  which  Mr.  Min- 
turu  offered  for  his  son  !  Did  any  one  who 
heard  it  wonder  that  such  prayer  was  an- 
swered ?  and  that  in  the  next  meeting, 
Howard,  speaking  with  a  little  ring  of  joy 
in  his  voice,  said,  "I  love  Jesus  to-night. 
I  want  every  one  to  love  him.  I  am  very 
happy." 

From  this  the  work  went  on.  The  little 
lecture-room  grew  full  and  overflowed,  and 
the  crowd  now  filled  the  church ;  and  every 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 


217 


oight  some  new  voice  was  heard,  asking  for 
prayer. 

Will  Bailey  seemed  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  torment ;  teased  the  boy's  unmercifully, 
went  to  the  meeting  every  evening,  and 
made  fun  of  it  all  day ;  but  the  boys  were 
praying  for  him,  and  God's  pitying  eye  was 
on  him. 

One  evening  there  were  two  who  arose  to 
ask  the  prayers  of  Christians ;  one  was  Will 
Bailey,  the  most  hopeless,  so  the  boys 
thought,  of  all  the  boys  in  town  ;  the  other 
was  Will  Bailey's  gray-haired  father,  the 
most  hopeless,  so  the  good  men  feared,  of 
all  the  strong,  self-satisfied  men  in  town. 

Yet  there  were  two,  for  whom  daily,  earn- 
est prayer  was  offered,  who,  in  this  blessed 
time,  held  themselves  aloof;  two  boys,  so 
far  separated,  that  it  seems  strange  and  sad 
that  their  names  should  be  coupled  just  here. 
Bob  Turner  and  Ellis  Holbrook,  the  lowest 


218  TIP  LE  W1S  AND  HIS  LAMP, 

and  the  highest ;  the  worst  boy  in  school 
and  the  best !  Yet  they  were  united  in  this 
one  thing,  that  they  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  Christ.  Tip  had  prayed  for  both, 
worked  for  both;  but  this  was  his  success 
one  afternoon. 

"Say,  Bob,  won't  you  go  to  meeting  to- 
night, just  to  please  me  ?  " 

"  Couldn't  Tip,  no  way  in  the  world.  I'd 
do  most  anything  to  please  you,  too,  for  the 
sake  of  old  times  when  we  used  to  steal 
apples  together ;  but  I've  promised  to  go 
with  Nick  Hunt  to-night,  and  tie  old  Bar- 
low's cat  fast  to  his  front-door  knob,  and 
that's  got  to  be  done  while  the  old  man  it 
at  meeting  you  know.  'Tain't  no  matter, 
either,  about  my  going ;  you  just  do  the 
praying  for  you  and  me  too ;  then  it  will  be 
all  right." 

Tip  turned  away  with  a  sigh  and  a  shud- 
der. Could  it  be  possible  that  that  boy  had 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


219 


ever  been  his  only  companion !  Ellis  was 
round  by  the  ball-ground,  and  he  went 
thither. 

"  Ellis,  won't  you  go  down  to-night  with 
the  boys  ;  it's  almost  the  last  meeting,  you 
know  ? " 

Ellis  wheeled  around,  and  spoke  in  his 
coldest  tone. 

"  Tip  Lewis,  you  seem  to  take  a  wonder- 
ful interest  in  me,  and  I'm  sure  I'm  much 
obliged  to  you ;  but  I'll  be  a  great  deal  more 
so  if  you'll  attend  to  your  own  affairs 
after  this,  and  let  mine  alone." 

Poor  Tip !  how  discouraged  he  felt.  Yet 
that  very  evening,  going  home  from  school, 
he  met  Mr.  Holbrook ;  the  minister  turned 
and  walked  up  town  with  him. 

"  Edward,"  he  said,  "  are  you  praying  foi 
my  boy  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 


220 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP. 


"  Will  you  never  stop  praying  for  him 
while  you  live,  until  he  comes  to  Christ  ?  " 

"  I  never  witt,  sir,"  answered  Tip,  with 
energy. 


CHAPTER  XVm. 

'THY  FATHER     AND    THT   MOTHER    SHALL  BK    GLAD,    ATO 
BHX  THAT   BORE  THEE   SHALL   REJOICE." 

\ 

•OW  did  Mr.  Holbrook  know  so  well 
what  Kitty  needed  to  help  her  ?  His 
C\f3J1J  wor(is  had  given  her  such  new 
thoughts;  some  way  it  was  all  new 
to  her,  the  idea  that  she  had  any  duty  to  per- 
form towards  her  mother.  She  stood  think- 
ing of  it  that  bright  winter  day,  stood  before 
the  little  fire,  and  wondered  how  it  was  that 
she  ought  to  commence.  She  was  to  be 
alone  all  day.  Mrs.  Stebbens,  their  next 

neighbor,  had  fallen  down  and  sprained  he' 
281 


222 


LEWI 8  AND  HI 8  LAMP. 


ankle,  and  sent  to  know  if  Mrs.  Lewis 
could  do  her  promised  day's  work  in  the  vil- 
lage. Kitty  was  left  in  charge  of  the  house 
and  her  sick  father.  She  looked  around  the 
room ;  what  an  ugly,  dreary  little  room  it 
was,  —  dust,  dirt,  and  cobwebs  everywhere  ; 
her  hood  and  shawl  lying  in  one  corner ;  her 
mother's  apron  on  the  floor  in  the  middle 
of  the  room ;  the  breakfast-dishes  not  yet 
washed  ;  the  stove  all  spattered  with  grease 
from  the  pork  gravy ;  the  hearth  thickly 
covered  with  ashes  ;  the  paper  window- 
curtain  hanging  by  one  tack ;  and  on  the 
mantel-piece,  behind  the  stove,  such  an  array 
of  half-eaten  apples,  matches,  forks,  sticky 
spoons,  broken  teacups,  aud  duly  candle- 
sticks, as  would  have  frightened  any  one  less 
used  to  it  than  was  Kitty.  As  she  looked 
around  her,  a  forlorn  smile  came  over  her 
face,  for  she  thought  of  Mr.  Holbrook's 


TIP  LEWJS  AND  HJ8  LAMP.  223 

words:  "When  you  brush  up  the  floor,  or 

brighten  the  fire  to  please  your  mother " 

"  He  don't  know,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"that  mother  don't  care  for  sweeping  and 
such  things  ;  he  don't  know  how  we  live.  I 
wonder  if  mother  would  notice  now  if  things 
were  different ;  what  if  we  did  live  like  other 
folks,  —  had  nice  things,  and  kept  them  put 
up,  and  the  room  swept ;  suppose  I  try  it. 
What  could  I  do  ?  I  might  sweep  and  wash 
off  the  stove,  and  —  and  clean  off  the  man 
tel-piece.  I'll  just  do  it !  and  see  if  anybody 
in  this  house  will  care." 

No  sooner  thought  than  commenced. 
Kitty  went  to  work.  The  dishes  were 
washed  until  they  shone  ;  those  clean  dishes 
shouldn't  go  in  such  a  disorderly  cupboard. 
There  was  no  help  for  it,  the  shelves  must  be 
washed ;  down  came  the  bottles  and  bundles, 
papers  of  this  and  boxes  of  that,  which  had 
been  gathering,  Kitty  didn't  know  how  long, 


224  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BI8  LAMP. 

and  the  astonished  shelves  felt  soap  and 
water  once  more.  How  they  were  scrubbed ! 

"  Kitty  ?  "  called  her  father  from  his  bed- 
room, hearing  the  racket,  "  what  are  you 
doing  ?  " 

"  I'm  cleaning  house,"  answered  Kitty, 
promptly. 

.And  her  father,  because  he  did  not  know 
what  else  to  do,  let  her  work.  From  the 
cupboard  she  went  to  the  mantel-piece,  bun- 
dled the  things  all  off  in  a  heap,  washed  it 
thoroughly,  and  put  everything  in  order. 
What  a  day  it  was  to  Kitty !  One  improve- 
ment led  to  another,  and  as  things  began  to 
grow  clean  in  her  hands,  she  grew  wonder- 
fully interested,  and  only  stopped  at  noon  to 
warm  her  father's  gruel. 

It  was  Saturday,  and  Tip  had  gone  to  pile 
wood  for  Mr.  Bailey.  He  was  to  get  his 
dinner  and  a  grammar  for  his  pay.  He  had 
wanted  a  grammar  all  winter,  so  he  worked 


TIP  LEWIS  ANJ  HIS  LAMP 


225 


with  a  will ;  and  Kitty  saw  neither  him  nor 
her  mother  through  all  the  busy  day.  The 
early  sun  had  set  long  before.  Kitty  thought 
he  certainly  would  not  know  that  room  the 
next  morning,  it  was  all  so  changed.  The 
paper  curtain  was  mended  and  tacked  up  in 
its  place ;  the  old  lounge  cover  was  mended 
and  fastened  on  smoothly ;  the  mantel-piece 
shone,  and  glowed  in  the  firelight ;  the  two 
shiny  candle-sticks,  and  beside  them,  the  little 
box  of  matches,  were  all  that  remained  there 
of  the  rubbish  of  the  morning  ;  the  floor  was 
just  as  smooth  and  clean  as  soap  and  ashes, 
with  plenty  of  hot  water  and  an  old  broom 
could  make  it ;  hoods,  and  shawls,  and 
aprons,  and  old  shoes,  had  all  disappeared  ; 
nothing  was  lying  around,  —  the  table  was 
drawn  out,  the  clean,  smooth  plates  arranged 
so  as  to  hide  the  soiled  spots  on  the  table- 
cloth, the  pudding  was  bubbling  away  in  the 
astonished  kettle,  and  Kitty's  joy  had  been 


226 


TIP  LEWIS  AA£>  HIS  LAMP. 


complete,  when  only  a  few  minutes  before, 
after  a  great  deal  of  stamping  and  pounding, 
she  had  opened  the  door  to  Howard  Minturn, 
who  said,  — 

"  Mother  sent  you  some  milk  for  your  sup- 
per ?  —  Where's  Tip  ?  —  Isn't  it  cold  though  ? 
—  There'll  be  prime  skating  to-night.  — 
Give  me  the  pitcher  right  away,  please." 
All  this  in  one  breath. 

Now  they  would  have  beautiful  fresh  milk 
for  supper,  and  if  there  was  anything  which 
Tip  liked,  it  was  pudding  and  milk. 

So  Kitty  set  the  old  arm-chair  in  the 
warmest  corner  for  her  mother,  fastened  her 
father's  door  wide  open  so  he  could  see  the 
new  room,  then  stirred  her  pudding,  and 
watched  and  waited.  Her  mother  came  first. 
Kitty's  heart  had  never  beat  more  anxiously 
than  when  she  heard  the  slow,  tired  step  on 
the  hard  snow.  Would  she  notice  anything 
different.  In  she  came,  tired,  cross,  and 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  227 

cold,  expecting  to  find  disorder,  discomfort, 
and  cold  inside.  Could  anybody,  having 
eyes,  fail  to  notice  the  changes  which  had 
been  wrought  in  that  little  room  since  she 
went  out  from  it  in  the  early  morning  ?  She 
shut  the  door  with  a  little  slam,  and  then  the 
flush  of  the  firelight  seemed  to  blind  her  a 
little  ;  she  brushed  her  hand  over  her  face, 
and  looked  around  her  with  a  bewildered 
air.  Kitty  went  over  to  her  ;  some  way  she 
felt  a  great  kindness  in  her  heart  for  her 
mother,  a  great  longing  to  do  something  for 
her. 

'*  Is  it  cold,  mother  ? "  she  asked,  brightly, 
"  take  that  chair,"  pointing  to  the  seat  in  the 
warm  corner.  "  Supper's  all  ready,  and  I've 
made  a  cup  of  tea  for  you." 

Mrs.  Lewis  took  off  her  hood  and  shawl 
in  silence,  untied  her  wet  shoes,  and  placed 
her  cold  feet  on  the  clean,  warm  stove- 
hearth  ;  took  in  the  brightness  of  the  room. 


228  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

the  shiny  candle-sticks,  the  neatly-spread 
tea-table,  —  took  whiffs  of  the  steaming  tea 
all  in  utter  silence,  —  only,  when  Kitty'i 
father,  looking  out,  said,  "  There's  been 
business  done  here  since  you  went  away," 
something  in  her  mother's  voice,  as  she 
answered,  "  I  should  think  there  had,"  made 
the  blood  rush  warmly  into  Kitty's  cheeks, 
and  made  her  whisper  to  herself,  as  she 
stooped  to  place  the  wet  shoes  under  the 
stove  to  dry.  "Mr.  Holbrook  told  me 
true,  I  do  believe.  I  guess  I  have  pleased 
Jesus  to-day  ;  I  feel  so." 

While  she  was  taking  up  the  pudding, 
there  was  a  merry  whistle  outside,  a  brisk, 
crushing  step  on  the  snow,  and  Tip  whizzed 
into  the  room. 

Oh,  there  was  no  mistaking  the  look  of 
delight  on  his  face,  nor  the  glad  ring  in  his 
voice,  as  he  said,  "  Oh,  Kitty !  why  Kitty 
Lewis !  what  have  you  been  doing  ?  Why, 


"  Bv-and-by  Tip  brought  out  his  grammar."  —  Page  MO. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI 8  LAMP. 


229 


it  looks  most  as  nice  here  as  it  does  at 
Howard  Minturn's." 

All  that  evening  there  seemed  a  spell 
upon  the  Lewis  family.  Mrs.  Lewis  didn't 
say  one  cross  or  fretful  word ;  indeed,  she 
had  no  cause,  for  in  Kitt}r's  heart  there  was 
a  strange,  new  feeling  of  love  for  her  mother, 
of  longing  to  please  and  give  her  comfort ; 
and  never  was  mother  waited  on  with 
a  more  quiet  care  than  Mrs.  Lewis  received 
that  night. 

This  was  the  first  coming  of  home-comfort 
to  the  family.  Tip  had  apples  in  his  pocket, 
which  Howard  Minturn  had  given  him;  he 
roasted  them  before  the  fire,  and  his  father 
ate  very  little  pieces  of  them ;  and  his 
mother  darned  stockings  by  the  light  of  the 
candle  in  the  clean  little  candle-stick  set  or 
the  clean  little  stand  ;  and  they  were  happy. 

By-and-by   Tip  brought  out  his  grammar 


230  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

and  finding  Kitty  very  much  interested  in 
examining  it,  said,  — 

•'  What  if  you  should  begin,  and  study 
grammar  with  me  ?  " 

"  What  if  I  should  ?  "  answered  Batty.  So 
that  evening  she  commenced  her  education, 
and,  though  grammar  was  a  queer  study  to 
begin  with,  still  it  was  a  beginning. 

The  pleasant  evening  wore  away ;  the 
town  clock  had  struck  nine,  Kitty's  father 
had  gone  quietly  to  sleep,  and  the  bedroom 
door  was  shut  to  keep  all  sounds  from  dis- 
turbing him.  Tip  had  taken  his  candle  and 
gone.  Mrs.  Lewis  sat  toasting  her  feet 
before  the  dying  fire,  yet  still  Kitty  lin- 
gered. She  wanted  to  take  Tip's  advice, 
and  tell  her  mother  about  her  dear,  new 
friend,  and  this  evening,  of  such  wonderful 
peace,  seemed  the  good  time  for  doing  so  ; 
but  she  didn't  know  how,  —  if  her  mother 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


231 


would  only  say  something  to  help  her !  and 
presently  she  did. 

"  Kitty,  what  fit  came  over  you,  to  go  to 
work  and  clear  up  at  such  rate  ?  " 

"  I  wanted  to  please  you,  I  guess." 

Kitty  knew  that  this  answer  would  sur- 
prise her  mother,  and  it  did,  into  utter 
silence ;  but  after  what  seemed  to  Kitty  a 
long,  long  time,  she  spoke  again. 

"  What  did  you  want  to  do  that  for  ?  " 

Now  for  it !  this  was  the  best  chance  she 
could  ever  hope  to  have,  and  her  voice 
trembled  a  little. 

"  I  wanted  to  please  Jesus  too,  mother, 
and  Mr.  Holbrook  said  if  I  did  things  to 
help  you,  and  that  you  would  like,  he  would 
be  glad —  Jes"us  would,  you  know."  A  little 
silence,  and  then,  "  I  want  to  please  Jesus  all 
the  time,  now,  because  I  love  him,  and  I'm 
going  to  try  to  do  right." 

It  was  all   out   now,  and   her  heart  was 


232  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

beating  so  that  it  almost  stopped  her  voice. 
Her  mother  shaded  her  face  with  her  hand 
and  neither  spoke  nor  moved.  Kitty  waited 
a  little,  then  moved  slowly  towards  the  door 
of  her  bit  cf  bedroom ;  it  was  moonlight, 
so  she  needed  no  candle. 

"  Good-night,  mother,"  she  found  courage 
to  say,  at  last. 

"  Good-night,"  and  her  mother's  voice 
sounded  strangely,  coming  from  behind  the 
closely-held  hand. 

There  was  something  like  a  great  sob  in 
Kitty's  throat  as  she  went  to  her  room  that 
night  —  in  her  heart  was  a  great  longing 
for  mother-love.  She  would  have  liked  to 
kiss  her  mother  good-night,  but  she  felt  how 
queerly  that  would  look ;  even  to  say  good- 
night was  something  very  unusual.  So  she 
knelt  down  beside  her  bed,  and  prayed  for 
her  mother. 

I  don't  think  Mr.  Holbrook  knew  that  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  233 

few  kind  words  which  he  spoke  tc  Kitty 
Lewis,  on  her  way  home  from  prayer-meet- 
ing, were  seeds  which  were  going  to  spring 
up  and  bear  fruit  into  everlasting  life. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AST)  ALL  THT  CHILDREN  SHALL  BE  TAUGHT  OF  THE  LORD." 

BATHER,"  said  Tip,  as,  after  hav- 
ing carefully  measured  out  and 
given  him  some  cough-drops,  he 
sat  down  for  a  chat  with  him  before 
school ,  "  father,  didn't  you  and  Mr.  Bailey 
go  to  school  together  when  you  were 
boys  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Lewis.  "  Our  fathers 
lived  side  by  side,  and  we  used  to  walk  more 
than  a  mile  to  school  together  every  morn- 
ing —  we  were  in  the  same  class  too,  and 
the  best  scholars  in  school.  My  !  times  are 

changed   since   that    day,  —  my  father    was 
834 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  235 

considerably  better  off  than  his  was,  and  now 
he's  a  rich  man  and  I'm  nobody." 

"Was  he  such  a  boy  as  Will  Bailey  is — 
or,  I  mean,  as  Will  used  to  be  ?  " 

"I  don't  know  much  about  Will;  but  I 
know  his  father  was  a  sorry  scamp,  and 
many's  the  scrape  he  got  me  into.  He  took  a 
notion  to  me ;  we  lived  near  by,  and  were  al- 
ways together ;  and  then  I  was  full  of  pranks 
as  he  was,  I  suppose ;  but  he  was  a  regulai 
tyrant  over  the  rest  of  the  boys ;  they  were 
nore  than  half  afraid  of  him ;  I  don't  know 
Out  what  I  was  myself;  any  how,  I  know  I've 
thought  I'd  have  been  different  may  be,  if  I 
hadn't  followed  him  so  close  in  all  his 
scrapes." 

"  Father,  did  you  know  Mr.  Bailey  was 
different  now  ?  " 

"  Different  —  how  ?  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  he  comes  to  prayer-meeting,  and 
speaks  and  prays,  and  seems  to  love  tc  " 


236 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"  Tlie  mischief  he  does  !  "  said  Mr.  Lewis. 
surprised  out  of  his  usual  quiet  tone.  "  1 
should  think  he  was  different.  Why,  he 
used  to  make  great  fun  of  all  such  things." 

"  Yes,  that's  what  he  says ;  but,  I  tell  you, 
he  don't  make  fun  now." 

"  When  did  all  that  happen  ?  " 

"  A  few  weeks  ago,  when  the  revival  was, 
you  know  ;  he  got  up  one  night  and  asked 
them  to  pray  for  him,  and  now  he  most  al- 
ways speaks  or  prays  in  the  meetings." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Lewis,  after  a  pause, 
and  with  a  little  sigh,  "  I'm  sure  I  ain't  sorry ; 
I  only  hope  it  will  last ;  he  needed  it  as  bad 
as  any  one  I  know  of." 

"  It  will  last,"  Tip  said  speaking  positive- 
ly. "  God  will  look  out  for  that." 

Then  he  waited  a  little  before  he  spoke 
again  —  but  he  had  been  praying  for  his 
father  long  enough  and  earnestly  enough  to 
feel.  bold. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BJS  LAMP. 


23', 


"  I  thought,  last  night,  that  you  must  have 
been  pretty  good  friends  once,"  he  said  pres- 
ently, "  for  he  most  broke  down  when  he  was 
praying  for  you,  and  the  tears  just  blinded 
him." 

Mr.  Lewis  turned  himself  on  his  pillow, 
and  looked  steadily  at  his  son.  "  Did  Mr. 
Bailey  pray  for  me!"  he  asked,  at  last. 

'*  Yes,  he  did,  and  he  prayed  as  if  he  meant 
it." 

"  How  came  he  to  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  asked  'em  to  —  all  the  folks  in 
meeting  you  know.  I  wanted  you  to  be  a 
Christian,  and  prayed  for  you,  and  then  I 
asked  them  if  they'd  pray,  and  Mr.  Bailey 
got  right  up.  You  don't  mind  that,  do  you, 
father  ?  All  the  folks  down  there  ask  us  to 
pray  for  their  friends." 

"  No,"  answered  Mr.  Lewis  at  last,  speak- 
ing slowly,  "  I  don't  know  as  I  do.  I  need 
praying  for,  I  suppose,  if  anybody  does.  I'm 


238 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


going  where  I  can't  be  prayed  for,  pretty 
fast,  I  guess." 

Tip  had  no  answer  to  make  to  that, 

"  So  you  prayed  for  me  too,  did  you  ? " 
his  father  asked  presently. 

"  Yes,  and  I  do  every  day,  father ;  I  do 
want  you  to  know  Jesus." 

A  long  silence  followed,  and  then  the  sick 
man  spoke  again. 

"  Well,  Tip,  I'm  glad  that  you've  got  right, 
gladder  than  I  can  tell  you.  My  father  was 
a  good  man,  and  tried  to  make  me  do  what 
was  right ;  but  I  went  all  wrong,  wasted  my 
whole  life,  and  brought  up  my  children  to  do 
so  too ;  but  you're  getting  on  without  my 
help,  and  I'm  glad  you'll  grow  up  to  be  a 
good  man,  and  be  a  comfort  to  your  mother 
when  I'm  gone  ;  but  I  don't  know  as  you 
need  ask  folks  to  pray  for  me ;  it's  too  late 
I've  gone  too  far  to  get  back." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


239 


Tip's  bold,  prompt  manner  did  not  forsake 
him  now  ;  he  answered,  quickly,  — • 

"  Father,  I  don't  believe  any  such  thing. 
God  doesn't  say  anything  about  it's  being  too 
late,  and  he  says  if  we  want  anything  very 
much,  and  pray  for  it,  and  it's  good  to  have, 
he'll  give  it  to  us  ;  and  I'm  bound  to  believe 
him.  Once  I  prayed  for  Kitty,  and  prayed 
and  prayed,  and  it  didn't  do  a  bit  of  good, 
until  at  last  Mr.  Holbrook  told  me  that  may 
be  it  was  because  I  didn't  really  believe  any 
of  the  time  that  God  was  going  to  do  what  I 
wanted  him  to  ;  and  I  found  out  that  was  it. 
Just  as  soon  as  I  began  to  think  he  would 
hear  me,  it  all  came  out  straight ;  and  now 
I'm  bound  to  believe  him  every  time.  I've 
asked  him  to  make  you  a  Christian,  and  I'm 
going  to  keep  on  asking,  and  he'll  do  it. 
Father,"  Tip's  voice  took  a  softer  tone,  for  he 
knew  there  was  one  very  tender  spot  in  his 


240  TIP  L£  W1S  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

father's  heart,  "  don't  you  want  to  see  little 
Johnny  up  in  heaven  ?  " 

The  muscles  around  Mr.  Lewis's  mouth, 
began  to  twitch  nervously,  and  a  tear  rolled 
down  his  cheek. 

"  I'm  pretty  near  it,"  he  said,  at  last,  "and 
I  think  sometimes  I'd  give  the  world,  if  I 
had  it,  to  be  ready  to  go  ;  but  it's  all  too  late. 
I've  known  the  right  way  all  my  life,  and 
I've  gone  the  other  way  ;  now  I  must  just 
take  my  pay." 

The  very  Spirit  of  Christ  must  have  shown 
Tip  what  to  say  next ;  he  spoke  the  words 
earnestly  and  solemnly ;  he  meant  no  dis- 
respect, — 

"  Father,  do  you  know  more  about  it 
than  God  ?  Because,  you  see,  it  don't  say 
any  such  thing  anywhere  in  the  Bib  j ;  I 
know  it  don't,  for  we  talked  about  it  ir  Sun- 
day school  once,  and  Mr.  Holbrook  said, 


LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  241 


'  No  matter  how  old  a  man  was,  nor  what  he 
had  done,  he  could  be  a  Christian." 

"  I  always  thought  it  looked  mean  and 
sneaking  in  a  man,  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  such  things  all  his  life,  and  then  turn 
around  just  because  he  was  going  to  die,  and 
pretend  to  be  very  good.  God  can't  be 
pleased  with  any  such  thing  as  that.  I've 
always  said  that  I'd  never  do  it." 

Tip  couldn't  answer  this  ;  it  didn't  sound 
true  ;  he  felt  sure  it  was  not  true  ;  but  he  had 
no  wisdom  with  which  to  meet  it.  He  went 
to  school  with  those  last  words  of  his  father's 
ringing  in  his  heart,  and  his  thoughts  took 
shape,  and  spoke  in  the  very  first  sentence 
that  he  addressed  to  Mr.  Holbrook  whom  he 
evertook  as  he  came  out  of  the  post-office. 

"  Mr.  Holbrook.  can  I  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion?" 

And  the  minister,  always  ready  to  help  any 


TIP  LE  WIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

one  out  of  trouble,  smiled  and  bowed,  and 
walked  on  by  the  side  of  the  troubled  boy- 

"  If  a  man  should  tell  you  he  thought  it 
would  be  mean  in  him  to  turn  around  and 
go  to  serving  God,  after  he  had  found  out  he 
had  but  a  little  while  to  live,  when  he  had 
cheated  him  out  of  all  the  rest  of  his  life, 
what  would  you  say  ?  " 

"  I  think,"  said  Mr.  Holbrook,  "  I  would 
be  very  likely  to  ask  him  whether  he  sup- 
posed he  would  feel  any  less  mean  for 
cheating  God,  out  of  the  last  year  of  his  life, 
simply  because  he  had  been  doing  so  all  the 
other  years  ;  because  a  man  has  been  doing 
wrong  for  forty  years,  I  don't  know  why  he 
should  add  another  year  of  wrong  ;  I  should 
think  he  might  much  better  turn  around,  and 
make  all  the  amends  he  could." 

u  Oh  !  "  said  Tip,  drawing  a  long  breath  ; 
"  why  couldn't  I  have  thought  of  that  V  I 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  243 

•*new  it  was  wrong,  I  saw  it  plain  enough ; 
but  I  couldn't  think  of  a  word  to  say." 

Mr.  Holbrook  looked  earnestly  at  the 
eager  boy.  "  Edward,"  he  said  at  last,  "  do 
you  think  your  father  would  see  me  this 
morning  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Tip  decidedly,  "I  know  nu 
would.  If  you  would  only  go  and  see  him, 
Mr.  Holbrook,  and  explain  that  to  him,  I 
would  be  so  glad." 

And  looking  back  soon  after,  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  Mr.  Holbrook  walk 
quickly  down  town  in  the  direction  of  his 
home.  And  now  Tip  felt  hopeful  for  his 
father ;  he  had  prayed  for  him,  he  had 
worked  for  him,  and  now  Mr.  Holbrook  had 
gone  to  him  ;  surely,  he  could  iea-ve  th» 
in  God's  hands. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


"LET  HIM  THAT  THINK KTH  HE  STANDBTH,  TAKE  HKKD 
LKHT  HE  KAIJ>." 


•ERE,   Tip!"   said   Howard   Minturn, 
"  hold  this  frame  steady  while  I  try 

CACTI    that  nail.     Will,  don't  put  that  one 

of>fj 

up  so  high,  it  ain't  even  with  the 
others.  Hold  on,  Ellis  —  catch  hold  of  this 
stool,  it's  tipping.  There,  now  it's  all  nice 
and  in  order  :  isn't  it,  Mr.  Burrows  ?  "  And 
he  sprang1  from  his  stool,  as  their  teacher 
entered  the  school-room  door. 

"Very   likely,"   answered    Mr.    Burrows, 
smiling ;    "  only   I    didn't    hear    what 
said." 

244 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


246 


"  I  say  we're  ready  for  examination,  room 
and  all." 

"  The  room  is,  certainly  ;  and  I  hope  your 
brains  are.  Ellis,  I'd  move  that  chair  a  lit- 
tle to  the  left ;  it  will  be  in  the  way  of  the 
classes  as  it  stands  now.  Do  you  feel  brave 
to-day,  Edward  ?  " 

"  Yes,    sir,"    answered    Tip,    promptly  ; 
"  pretty  brave." 

And  he  did,  besides  feeling  eager  and 
excited.  The  long  winter  term  was  over; 
to-day  and  to-morrow  were  to  be  days  of 
examination ;  the  boys  had  been  working 
hard  for  it ;  none  harder  than  had  Tip.  It 
was  the  first  examination  which  had  ever 
come  to  him  in  this  exciting  way.  Always 
before  he  had  been  among  the  few  inevita- 
ble dunces,  running  away  from  examination 
altogether,  or  else  laughing  good-naturedly 
over  his  own  blundering  ignorance.  But 
to-day  it  was  different;  he  stood  there  on 


246 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


the  stage  among  the  workers,  proudiy  an- 
swering his  teacher's  questions,  and  looking 
proudly  over  at  the  group  of  idlers,  —  Bob 
Turner  at  their  head,  —  who  loitered  near 
the  windows,  wondering  that  he  could  ever 
have  been  of  their  number.  This  was  going 
to  be  a  great  day  for  Tip ;  it  is  true  he 
was  far  behind  some  others  of  his  age,  so 
far  that  not  a  single  class  of  Howard  Min- 
turn's  and  Ellis  Holbrook's  were  to  be  ex- 
amined that  day,  —  the  advance  classes 
being  put  for  the  next  day,  —  while  all  of 
his  came  that  morning;  but  then,  Tip  knew 
there  was  change  enough  in  him  to  call  the 
attention  of  every  one  present ;  he  felt  the 
change  in  himself ;  his  mother  felt  it  when 
she,  that  morning,  brushed  his  hair  for  him. 
and  fastened  a  clean  collar  on  his  jacket; 
the  boys  in  school  felt  it ;  he  had  taken  his 
place  among  the  workers. 

The   bell  rang   at  last,  and  the  scholars 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  247 

filed  in  and  took  their  places.  There  were 
visitors,  even  in  the  early  morning;  the 
people  liked  to  attend  Mr.  Burrows'  exam- 
inations. Tip's  class  in  reading  came  first 
on  the  list,  and  never  had  his  eyes  been 
so  bright  or  his  face  so  eager.  Tip  had 
learned  to  read.  Patiently,  earnestly,  he 
had  plodded  on  through  the  long  winter ; 
now  his  sad  blunderings  in  that  line  were 
over  forever ;  not  a  boy  in  school  read  more 
slowly,  distinctly,  and  correctly  than  Tip 
Lewis.  The  selections  were  to  be  made  by 
the  committee,  immediately  after  class,  of 
those  who  were  considered  ready  to  enter 
the  history  class  on  the  following  term. 
This  was  the  highest  reading  class  in  the 
school,  and  Tip's  eyes  fairly  danced  when 
Mr.  Holbrook,  who  was  chairman  of  the 
committee,  —  out  of  a  class  of  thirteen, — 
read  but  two  names,  —  "  Thomas  Jones  "  and 
"  Edward  Lewis." 


248 


IIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


"  Hollo,  Tip ! "  Howard  Minturn  had  said 
to  him  at  recess ;  "  let's  shake  hands  ;  wel 
come  to  history  ;  it's  awfully  hard  and  inter 
esting." 

And  Tip  did  shake  hands,  and  laughed  ; 
and  looked  over  at  the  other  clique  —  the 
dunces  —  with  a  half  patronizing  nod  to 
Bob  Turner ;  and  wondered  how  he  could 
have  borne  it  to  have  been  numbered  with 
them  that  day ;  then  he  felt  that  he  was 
climbing  into  the  first  set,  and  climbing  fast 

In  spelling,  too,  he  came  off  conqueror  : 
spelled  down  the  class,  spelled  until  Mr 
Burrows  closed  his  book  with  the  words. 
"  I  presume  you  are  tired  of  this,  gentlemen, 
and  as  our  examinations  are  confined  to  the 
lessons,  I  think  it  will  hardly  pay  to  go  fai  • 
ther,  for  Edward  has  not  missed  since  the 
second  week  in  the  term." 

So  again,  flushed  and  excited,  Tip  went  to 
his  seat  victorious.  Only  arithmetic  now, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


249 


and  he  would  be  through  with  the  working 
part  of  the  day.  It  was  the  last  recitation 
in  the  morning,  and  he  was  so  eager  and 
anxious  to  do  well  that  he  began  to  grow 
nervous. 

The  class  was  called  at  last.  They  had 
gone  slowly  and  carefully  through  long 
division,  and  would  be  ready  for  fractions 
next  term.  The  recitation  passed  off  finely. 
Tip  had  not  studied  day  and  night  during 
the  winter  for  nothing.  He  wus  at  the 
board,  working  an  example  in  long  division  ; 
it  was  almost  finished.  The  hand  of  the 
clock  pointed  to  ten  minutes  of  twelve.  In 
ten  minutes  ha  would  be  through,  and  his 
name  would  stand  on  that  honored  list, 
among  those  who  had  not  missed  one  word 
or  made  one  mistake  during  the  examina- 
tion! His  hand  began  to  tremble.  What 
was  the  matter  with  that  example  ?  Oh, 
what  was  the  matter  !  The  remainder  was 


250  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

too  large  ;  no,  it  was  too  small ;  no  —  it  wa& 
—  he  didn't  know  what !  Everybody  was 
watching  him  ;  he  heard  a  boy  laugh  softly. 
He  had  made  a  mistake,  then  ;  what  was  it  ? 
where  was  it  ?  Mr.  Burrows'  voice  came  to 
him,  calm  and  kind. 

"  Edward,  don't  get  excited  ;  look  at  your 
remainder  closely  ;  take  the  first  figures  of 
divisor  and  remainder ;  nine  in  thirty-one, 
how  many  times  ?  that  will  help  you." 

Ellis  Holbrook  stood  but  a  step  from  the 
blackboard,  just  behind  him.  Tip  heard 
his  low  whisper,  "•  seven,"  and  without  wait- 
ing to  think  —  indeed  he  was  too  nervous  to 
think  —  he  caught  at  the  number. 

"  Seven  times  !  "  he  said,  hurriedly. 

Then  he  heard  bursts  of  laughter  from  the 
boys,  and  dashed  down  his  chalk  in  an  agony 
of  shame  and  pain.  And  the  clock  struck 
twelve ! 

The  honor  was  lost. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  251 

The  boys  gathered  around  him  after  school 
was  closed. 

"  It  was  too  bad  Tip,"  Howard  Mintura 
said,  in  a  tone  of  honest  sympathy.  "  You'd 
have  had  it  in  a  minute  more." 

"I'd  have  had  it  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Ellis  Holbrook,  and  he's  a  mean  scamp !  " 
Tip  answered,  in  a  rage. 

"  Whew !  "  said  Will  Bailey  ;  "  what  did 
Ellis  do  ? "  and  Ellis  turned,  and  proudly 
confronted  the  angry  boy. 

"  He  told  me  wrong  just  on  purpose ; 
that's  what  he  did,  and  he  knows  it." 

And  Tip  broke  away  from  them,  and 
dashed  out  of  the  room. 

Howard  Minturn  stood  aghast !  That  Ellis 
Holbrook,  his  best  friend,  and  the  very  pink 
of  honor  among  the  boys,  should  do  so  mean 
a  thing,  he  could  not  think,  and  yet  it  was 
hard  to  think  that  Tip  had  not  told  the 
truth. 


25*2  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  What  does  he  mean,  Ellis  ?  "  he  asked, 
at  last. 

"  You'll  have  to  ask  him  if  you  find  out,* 
said  Ellis,  haughtily.  "•  He  knows  bettei 
than  anybody  else  does  what  he  means,  1 
guess. 

The  boys  started  homeward  presently  in 
a  body.  Bob  Turner  and  his  friends  sur- 
rounded Tip,  and  Bob,  who  never  lost  a 
good  opportunity  for  teasing,  commenced  at 
once. 

"•  Poor  little  fellow  missed  his  lesson,  so 
he  did.  Don't  him  cry  ;  him  shall  have  a 
penny  to  buy  a  multiplication-table  with." 

"  Hold  your  tongue !  "  answered  Tip,  too 
angry  to  see  how  foolish  it  was  to  let  such 
words,  coming  from  a  boy  who  didn't  know 
a  single  line  of  the  multiplication-table,  pro- 
voke him. 

"  Such  a  pity  !  "  began  Bob  again ;  "  wheo 
it  had  spelled  its  lesson  all  so  nice,  and  had 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  258 

its  face  washed  and  its  hair  combed  so  pretty. ; 
mustn't  cry,  now,  to  spoil  its  face.  Poor  lit- 
tle fellow!" 

Tip  turned  towards  his  tormenter  a  face 
perfectly  white  with  rage,  and  the  boys 
hardly  knew  his  voice. 

"  Bob  Turner,  if  you  say  another  word  I'll 
knock  you  down  and  thrash  you  within  an 
inch  of  your  life.  I  will " 

Oh,  Tip  Lewis !  God  forgive  you  for  the 
way  in  which  you,  in  your  blind  rage,  have 
finished  that  sentence  !  For  the  use  which 
you  have  made  of  that  great  name,  which, 
above  all  others,  you  profess  to  reverence 
and  fear.  The  awful  word,  once  spoken, 
recalled  him  to  himself;  he  clapped  both 
hands  over  his  face  and  ran  wildly  up  the 
h-11,  then  down  out  of  sight. 

The  boys  had  all  heard  it.  Howard,  Ellis, 
Will  Bailey,  and  a  half  dozen  others,  were 
just  behind  him. 


254  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI 8  LAMP. 

Ellis  Holbrook's  pride  rose  high. 

"  There's  your  wonderful  boy,"  he  said, 
"  who  was  so  changed  and  has  taken  it  upon 
himself  to  preach  so  many  sermons  to  me. 
I'm  sure  I  never  finished  any  of  my  angry 
speeches  with  an  oath,  if  I  am  so  far  below 
him. 

What  an  afternoon  that  was  to  Tip  !  he 
will  never  forget  it ;  he  went  no  farther  than 
the  great  tree,  which  was  budding  out  in 
spring  green.  Down  he  sat  on  a  stone,  and 
once  more  covered  his  face  with  his  hands, 
and  such  a  storm  of  rage  and  pain  swept 
over  him  as  he  had  never  known  before. 

"  How  could  he,  how  could  he  have  said 
that  word?" 

Ever  since  he  had  learned  to  pray,  he  had 
been  afraid  of  that  sin ;  afraid  he  might  forget, 
and  go  back  to  his  old  habits,  and  he  had 
watched  and  guarded  his  lips  with  such  care 
and  prayer.  But  lately  he  had  given  up  all 


TIP  LEWIS  ANJ)  HIS  LAMP.  256 

feai ;  it  had  been  such  a  long  time,  and  he 
had  iierer  once  fallen,  he  felt  si1  re  that  he 
never  would  again. 

He  had  felt  so  sure  and  proud  and  strong, 
that  he  had  asked  no  help  from  God  that 
day ;  he  had  been  so  eager  to  spend  every 
moment  on  his  arithmetic  that  he  had  found 
no  time  to  go  to  his  Bible  for  strength.  No 
wonder.  Oh,  no  wonder  that  he  fell !  He 
had  been  standing  too  firmly,  feeling  no  need 
of  help.  Now,  what  should  he  do?  How 
low  he  felt,  how  mean !  Could  God  forgive 
him  ?  Yes,  he  could. 

Tip  felt  in  his  soul  that  there  was  nothing 
which  God  could  not  do,  and  yet  he  felt  too 
mean  and  fallen  to  dare  to  ask  him  for  any- 
thing more  ;  he  forgot,  for  the  moment,  that 
Jesus  Christ  died  to  save  sinners. 

The  sun  went  on  over  his  head,  and  com- 
menced his  afternoon  work ;  then  there  came 
up  the  hill  the  sound  of  the  school-bell,  but 


256  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Tip  took  no  notice  of  that,  —  he  didn't  warn 
to  think  of  school,  even  much  less  go.  He 
began  to  fumble  presently  for  his  Bible  ;  he 
must  have  some  help.  It  opened  of  itself  to 
the  Psalms,  and  he  read  the  first  line  which  he 
saw,  "  Unto  thee,  O  God,  do  we  give  thanks 

No,  not  that,  and  he  turned  back  a 
couple  of  leaves.  "  Make  a  joyful  noise 

No,  no !  he  didn't  want  to  hear  any- 
thing about  joy  ;  his  heart  was  as  heavy  as 
lead.  So  he  turned  over  several  leaves  at 
once,  he  must  find  something  that  would 
read  as  if  it  meant  him.  "  O  Lord,  rebuke 
me  not  in  thy  wrath,  neither  chasten  me  in 
thy  sore  displeasure."  Oh,  that  was  it!  God 
was  very  angry  with  him,  — had  a  right  to  be. 
—  this  was  just  what  he  ought  to  say.  He 
read  on  through  the  Psalm ;  almost  every 
verse  seemed  for  him,  and  when  he  read  the 
one  next  to  the  last — "Forsake  me  not,  O 
Lord ;  O  my  God,  be  not  far  from  me  "  —  he 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H*B  LAMP.  257 

said  it  over  and  over,  and  finally,  in  a  great 
burst  of  tears,  got  down  and  said  it  on  his 
knees. 

The  short  spring  day  was  over,  and  the 
chilly  night  was  setting  in.  Tip  had  reached 
home  finally,  had  split  the  wood  for  the  next 
day,  done  whatever  he  could  find  to  do  about 
the  house,  and  then  carried  the  vests  which 
his  mother  had  just  finished  to  the  clothing- 
store,  —  going  away  around  behind  the  mill 
so  as  to  avoid  passing  the  school-house,  lest 
he  might  chance  to  see  some  of  the  boys. 
Then  he  came  home,  ate  his  supper  in  si- 
lence, and  went  up  to  his  attic.  He  felt  bet- 
ter than  he  had  at  noon,  but  his  heart  was 
still  heavy,  and  he  dreaded  the  next  day, 
not  knowing  what  he  ought  to  do,  nor  how 
to  do  it.  This  was  Thursday  evening,  but 
he  didn't  mean  to  go  to  prayer-meeting. 
Kitty  had  asked  him,  had  even  coaxed  a  lit- 
tle, but  he  said,  "  No,  not  to-night."  He 


268  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

felt  stiff  and  sore  from  his  long  sitting  un- 
der the  great  tree  in  the  early  spring  damp- 
ness. He  told  himself  that  this  was  the 
reason  why  he  was  not  going  to  prayer-meet- 
ing ;  but  the  real  one  was,  he  felt  as  if  he 
could  not  possibly  face  Mr.  Burrows  that 
evening,  and  certainly  not  Mr.  Holbrook,  — 
of  course,  Ellis  had  told  him  all  about  it. 
He  felt  very  tired,  and  his  head  and  limbs 
ached ;  he  was  going  to  read  a  chapter  in  his 
Bible  and  go  to  bed.  He  chose  the  same 
Psalm  which  had  come  to  him  with  so  much 
power  that  afternoon,  read  it  slowly  and  care- 
fully, then  knelt  down  to  pray,  and  as  he  did 
so  a  new  trouble  loomed  up  before  him. 
What  should  he  do  ?  He  had  prayed  for 
Ellis  Holbrook  and  Bob  Turner  ever  since 
he  began  to  pray  for  himself,  but  he  felt  as 
shough  he  could  not  possibly  pray  for  either 
of  them  to-night.  Both  had  tried  to  injure 
him ;  both  had  succeeded ;  he  wished  them  no 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HJ8  LAMP.  259 

harm,  he  didn't  want  to  choke  nor  drown 
them,  as  he  had  felt  like  doing  at  noon,  but, 
clearly,  he  didn't  want  to  pray  for  them.  He 
had  arisen  from  his  knees,  and  was  sitting  on 
the  edge  of  the  box  which  was  his  table  and 
chair,  with  a  very  troubled  face.  The  more 
he  thought  about  it  the  more  he  felt  that  he 
could  not  pray  for  those  boys  just  then.  At 
last  he  thought  he  had  found  a  way  out  of 
the  difficulty.  He  said  to  himself  that  he  was 
very  tired,  almost  sick ;  he  would  just  repeat 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  go  to  bed ;  in  the 
morning,  very  likely,  he  should  feel  differ- 
ently. He  almost  knew  he  should.  So  he 
knelt  down  once  more. 

"  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,"  slowly, 
reverently,  through  the  sweet  petition,  until 

he  came  to  "  forgive  us  our  debts  as  we " 

there  he  stopped  ;  he  understood  that  prayer ; 
they  had  been  taking  it  up  in  Sunday  school, 
a  sentence  at  a  time,  and  talking  about  it,  and 


260  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIB  LAMP 

only  Sunday  before  last  that  sentence  had 
been  explained.  To-ni^ht  Tip  could  not 
finish  it ;  there  was  no  getting  around  the 
fact  that  he  had  not  forgiven  either  Ellis  or 
Bob.  Once  more  he  got  up  and  took  a  seat 
on  the  edge  of  his  bed  to  think.  He  was 
never  so  perplexed  in  his  life.  What  ought 
he  to  do  ?  Couldn't  he  pray  at  all  ?  Mr. 
Holbrook  had  said  he  must  never  mock 
God  by  asking  for  what  he  did  not  mean, 
and  to  say  those  words,  "  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors,"  feeling  as  he  did  to-night,  would 
be  mocking  God.  He  ought  not  to  feel  so, 
but  how  could  he  heip  it  ?  Suddenly,  with 
a  little  sigh  of  relief,  he  went  down  on  his 
knees  again ;  he  had  thought  of  something 
which  he  could  say.  "  Oh,  Jesus,  make  me 
feel  like  praying  for  Bob  and  Ellis ;  make 
me  want  them  to  be  Christians  as  hard  as  I 
did  last  night ;  make  me  feel  like  forgiving 
them."  Then  there  was  silence  in  the  lonely 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP,  261 

attic,  while  Tip,  still  on  his  knees,  struggled 
with  the  evil  spirit  within  him,  and  came  off 
conqueror,  for  presently  he  added ;  "  Oh,  dear 
Jesus,  111  forgive  them  both !  "  and  then  he 
finished  the  prayer.  "  Forgive  us  our  debts, 
as  we  forgive  our  debtors."  While  he  went 
around  after  that,  making  ready  for  rest  and 
sleep,  the  "peace  of  God  which  passeth  un- 
derstanding "  came  down  and  settled  in  his 
heart.  Presently  he  seemed  to  come  to 
another  difficulty,  for  he  sat  down  with  one 
boot  in  his  hand  and  one  still  on  his  foot ; 
this  question,  however,  was  settled  promptly ; 
he  pulled  the  boot  on  again  in  a  hurry,  then 
picked  up  his  jacket,  and  put  that  on,  seized 
his  hat,  and  ran  down  stairs. 

"  Kitty,"  he  said,  putting  his  head  in  at 
the  kitchen  door,  "  I'm  going,  after  all ; 
"  come  on." 

And  Kitty  joyfully  ran  for  her  hood  and 
shawl. 


262  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

But  Tip  did  not  open  his  lips  in  prayei 
meeting  that  evening ;  he  felt  bowed  down  to 
the  very  ground  with  shame ;  he  did  not  once 
raise  his  eyes  to  the  seat  where  Howard 
Minturn,  Will  Bailey,  and  others  of  the 
school-boys  were  sitting  ;  and  when  the 
short  hour  was  gone  he  made  haste  to  get 
out  from  Mr.  Holbrook's  sight  and  the  sound 
of  his  voice.  But  he  had  much  reason,  after 
that,  to  lhank  God  that  he  did  not  succeed. 
He  had  just  got  from  under  the  gaze  of  the 
hall-lamp,  and  stood  a  minute  in  the  darkness 
waiting  for  Kitty,  when  he  felt  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook's  hand  on  his  arm,  and  heard  his  kind, 
quiet  voice. 

"  Edward,  Mrs.  Holbrook  has  some  little 
business  to  transact  with  Kitty  to-night; 
shall  I  walk  with  you  ?  "  And  as  Tip  saw 
there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  walked  by  his 
side,  he  said,  "  I  didn't  see  you  at  school  this 
afternoon  ;  how  was  that  ?  " 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  263 

"  Mr.  Holbrook,  didn't  Ellis  tell  you  about 
it  this  noon  ?  " 

"  Ellis  has  told  me  nothing.  I  heard,  from 
one  of  the  smaller  boys,  a  very  sad  story. 
Have  you  anything  to  tell  me  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,  I  have  not ;  it's  all  true.  I  got 
awful  mad,  and  I  said  mad  things.  I  —  I 
did  worse  than  that." 

Tip's  voice  sank  to  a  solemn  whisper 
Mr.  Holbrook,  too,  was  silent  and  sad ;  ^  last, 
he  said,  — 

"  What,  Edward  !  do  you  mean  to  give  up, 
and  go  back  to  the  old  life  ?  " 

And  he  remembered,  years  after,  just  how 
painfully  his  heart  throbbed  while  he  waited 
for  Tip's  answer  ;  it  was  prompt  and  plain. 

"  No,  sir ;  God  wouldn't  even  let  me  do 
that." 

And  then  for  a  minute  Mr.  Holbrook  did 
not  speak  for  very  thankfulness,  that,  through 


264 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


all  this  maze  of  sin,  God  was  leading  Tip 
into  the  light  again. 

"  Do  you  feel  that  yon  have  God's  forgive- 
ness ?  "  he  asked,  speaking  gently. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  "  Tip  could  not  give  very  long 
answers  that  evening. 

"Why  were  you  so  quiet,  to-night  in 
prayer-meeting  ?  " 

"  Because,"  said  Tip,  speaking  low,  "  I  was 
ashamed  to  say  anything  before  you  or  Mr. 
Burrows  or  the  boys,  after  what  happened 
to-day." 

"  More  ashamed  with  us  than  you  were 
with  God  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  was ;  because  God  knows  all 
about  it, — just  how  sorry  I  am,  and  how  He 
has  forgiven  me,  and  is  going  to  help  me, 
and  you  didn't  know  that." 

Again  Mr.  Holbrook  was  thankful. 

"  How  about  to-morrow,  Edward  ?  "  he 
asked,  at  last. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  265 

And  this  time  Tip's  answer  was  very  low. 
•'  I  don't  know  ;  I  don't  know  what  to  do/' 

"If  you  knew  what  was  right  to  do, 
would  you  do  it  ?  " 

"I'm  pretty  sure  I'd  try  to,  sir." 

"  Well,  did  you  honor  or  dishonor  Christ 
to-day?" 

Tip's  answer  was  in  a  more  timid  tone 
than  he  often  spoke. 

"  I  dishonored  him." 

"Do  the  boys  know  that  you  are  very 
sorry,  and  have  asked  God  to  forgive  you  ?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  they  don't  know  anything  about 
it." 

"  Don't  you  think,  for  the  honor  of  Christ, 
they  ought  to  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  Who  ought  to  tell  them  ?  " 

No  immediate  answer  came  to  this  ;  then, 
after  a  little,  — 


266  UP  LEWIS  AND  B18  LAMP. 

"  Mr.  Holbrook,  how  could  I  tell  them  — 
to  each  one  about  it  ?  " 

"  See  if  you  cannot  answer  your  own  ques- 
tion. Will  not  all  the  boys  be  likely  to  hear 
about  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  they'll  be  sure  to." 

"And  would  they  all  be  likely  to  hear 
what  you  have  to  say,  unless  you  spoke  to 
all  at  once  ?  " 

"But,  Mr.  Holbrook,  if  I  did  that,  it 
would  have  to  be  in  school." 

"  Well  ? " 

"  But  to-morrow  is  the  last  day,  and  it's 
examination." 

"Well?" 

That  short  word  seemed  to  have  a  good 
deal  of  power  over  Tip,  for  he  only  answered 
it  by  saying,  after  a  long  silence,  — 

"  Mr.  Holbrook,  I  wonder  if  you  can  think 
how  very  hard  that  would  be  ?  " 

"  Edward,  I  wonder  if  you  can  think  hovr 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  267 

very  hard  it  was  for  your  Saviour  to  listen 
co  your  words  this  noon  ?  " 

And  Mr.  Holbrook  heard  no  more  from 
Tip,  save,  when  they  reached  the  corner,  a 
very  low,  very  grave,  Good-night." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"HB  SHALL  CALL  UPON  ME,  AND  I  WILL  AH8WKR  HIM;  I 
WILL  BE  WITH  HIM  IN  TROUBLE:  I  WILL  DELIVER  HIM,  AND 
HONOR  HIM." 


"HERE  were  not  many  visitors  in 
the  next  morning ;  it  was  too  early, 
^  as  }ret,  for  any  but  the  examining 
comn  Utee,  and  a  ,oiw  very  fond, 
very  anxious  mothers.  Mr.  Burrows'  hand 
was  on  the  bell ;  in  a  few  moments  the  alge- 
bra class  would  be  in  full  tide  of  recitation. 
Ellis  and  Howard  had  their  slates  in  their 
hands,  ready  to  start  at  the  first  sound, 
when  Tip  Lewis  left  his  seat  and  made 

his   way  towards   the  stage.     Mr.    Burrows 
268 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


269 


looked  surprised ;  this  was  entirely  out  of 
order;  but  a  look  at  Tip's  face  made  him 
change  his  mind  about  sending  him  back  to 
his  seat,  and  bent  his  head  to  listen  to  the 
few  words  that  were  hurriedly  whispered  in 
his  ear;  then  he  looked  more  surprised, 
hesitated  a  minute,  then  asked,  — 

"•  Hadn't  you  better  wait  until  noon,  and 
I  can  detain  the  scholars  a  few  moments  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Tip,  shaking  his  head,  and 
speaking  earnestly ;  "  I'm  afraid  if  I  wait 
till  noon,  I  sha'nt  do  it  at  all." 

"  Very  well,"  Mr.  Burrows  answered, 
finally.  "  Scholars,  one  of  your  number 
tells  me  that  he  has  something  of  impor- 
tance to  say  to  you ;  we  will  wait,  and  hear 
him." 

It  was  well  for  Tip  that  he  was  a  bold 
boy ;  that  every  day  of  his  life  had  been 
such  as  to  teach  him  a  lesson  of  boldness, 
else  his  courage  would  surely  have  failed 


2TO 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


him,  when  he  felt  the  many  curious  eyee 
resting  on  him.  As  it  was,  his  face  was 
scarlet,  when  he  turned  it  away  from  the 
desk,  and  towards  the  boys.  Yet  he  spoke 
promptly,  as  he  always  did  when  he  spoke 
ataU. 

"  I  want  to  tell  the  boys  that  I  am  sorry  for 
yesterday.  I  suppose  they  all  know  what  I 
did.  I  got  awful  mad,  and  I  —  I  said  a 
dreadful  word.  I  didn't  think  I  would  ever 
be  so  wicked  again ;  I  feel  awful  about  it. 
But  I  don't  want  the  boys  to  think  that  I 
don't  love  Jesus  any  more,  because  I  do; 
and  he  is  going  to  help  me  try  again." 

Such  a  silence  as  was  in  that  school-room 
then,  the  boys  had  never  felt  before  !  Mr. 
Burrows'  face  was  shaded  with  his  hand; 
he  let  the  silence  rest  upon  them  for  a 
moment,  after  Tip  had  taken  his  seat ;  then 
he  spoke,  low  and  solemnly. 

"  Boys,  what  God  has  forgiven,  I  feel  sure 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  271 

that  no  scholar  of  mine  will  be  mean  enough 
ever  to  mention  again." 

Then  the  bell  sounded,  and  the  business 
of  tbe  day  went  on.  Tip  had  laid  his  head 
down  on  the  desk  the  minute  he  took  his 
seat,  and  he  kept  it  there  throughout  the 
recitation.  He  had  been  through  a  fearful 
struggle ;  it  was  hard  work  for  a  boy  like 
him  to  stand  up  before  the  school  and  tell 
them  how  he  had  fallen.  But  it  was  over 
now,  and  from  his  very  soul  he  felt  that  he 
had  done  right. 

Bob  Turner,  sitting  beside  him,  was  quiet 
and  sober ;  and  when  Tip  raised  his  arm 
with  such  a  sudden  jerk  that  he  knocked  his 
arithmetic  to  the  floor,  Bob  leaned  over  and 
quietly  picked  it  up,  laid  it  back  in  its 
place ;  which  was  a  wonderful  thing  for  Bob 
Turner  to  do. 

At  noon  the  boys  gathered  around  Tip, 
quiet  and  kind ;  no  one  spoke  of  what  had 


272  TIP  LEWIS  AHD  BlS  LAMP. 

been  the  important  event  of  the  morning,  ail 
were  on  good  behavior. 

Ellis  Holbrook  came  into  their  midst. 

"  Tip,"  he  said,  speaking  gravely,  yet 
very  coldly,  "  perhaps  it  would  be  as  well 
for  you  to  know  that  you  made  quite  a 
blunder  yesterday,  when  you  said  I  told  you 
wrong  ;  I  hadn't  the  slightest  notion  of  tell- 
ing you,  right  or  wrong.  But  I  know  how 
you  came  to  think  so.  I  was  looking  out  a 
word  in  Mr.  Burrows'  dictionary,  and  stood 
just  behind  you,  when  Mr.  Bailey  leaned 
over  and  asked  me  how  many  there  were  in 
your  class,  when  all  were  present,  and  I 
answered  him,  seven." 

Tip  look  perfectly  astonished. 

"  Why  didn't  you  say  so  yesterday  ?  "  he 
asked,  at  last. 

"Because  you  didn't  give  me  a  chance," 
Ellis  answered,  coolly.  "I'm  not  in  the 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  273 

habit  of  cheating,  nor  of  being  told  that  1 
do.  so  I  was  not  prepared  with  an  answer." 

"  That's  true,"  said  Tip,  after  a  minute, 
answering  the  first  part  of  Ellis's  sentence ; 
"  that's  true,  I  didn't.  I  was  mad,  and  I 
just  bauged  off  before  anybody  could  say 
anything.  I  might  have  known  you  didn't 
do  any  such  thing ;  it  ain't  like  you." 

And  Tip  walked  away,  leaving  Ellis  to 
think  that  the  boy,  who  was  so  far  below 
him,  had  shown  much  the  better  spirit  of 
the  two. 

The  busy  day  was  drawing  to  a  close ; 
the  last  recitation  was  over,  and  the  boys 
were  in  a  state  of  grand  excitement,  waiting 
to  hear  the  report  of  the  committee ;  wait- 
ing to  know  whose  names  were  to  stand  on 
the  Roll  of  Honor,  having  passed  through 
the  entire  examination  without  a  mistake. 
Poor  Tip  was  sad;  yesterday  morning  he 
had  felt  so  sure  that  his  name  would  have  an 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

honorable  place,  and  to  him  it  was  so  much 
more  exciting,  because  it  would  be  for  the 
first  time.  How  hard  he  had  worked  ;  and 
now  it  was  all  lost !  Stupidly  lost,  too,  he 
said  to  himself,  over  an  example  that  he  had 
done  a  dozen  times ;  and  he  drew  a  heavy 
sigh,  and  roused  himself  to  listen  to  the 
report.  Mr.  Burrows  had  alread}r  called  for 
it,  and  Mr.  Holbrook,  as  chairman  of  the 
committee,  had  arisen  ;  but,  instead  of  read- 
ing the  report,  said,  — 

"  Mr.  Burrows,  if  there  is  time,  1  should 
like  to  say  a  few  words  to  the  scholars. 
Boys,  you  were  all  listeners  to  Edward 
Lewis'  examination  yesterday,  and  I  pre 
sume  you  know  better  than  I  do,  how  hard 
he  has  worked ;  now,  I  think  any  one  who 
watched  him  yesterday,  could  not  have 
tailed  to  see,  that,  had  he  not  grown  excited 
and  nervous,  he  could  have  worked  that 
example  Mr.  Burrows,  may  1  put  a  ques 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  E1B  LAMP. 

tion  to  vote  ?  "  And  Mr.  Burrows  giving  a 
hearty  consent,  he  continued,  "  Very  well ; 
now  I  want  every  boy  here,  who  is  willing 
to  allow  Edward  Lewis  to  go  to  the  board 
now,  and  try  that  example,  and  if  he  suc- 
ceeds, give  him  the  place  which  would  have 
been  his  yesterday,  to  stand  up." 

Ellis  Holbrook  was  the  first  to  spring  to 
his  feet,  and  every  single  boy  in  the  room 
followed  his  example  ;  Tip  alone  sitting  still, 
with  burning  cheeks. 

"  Well,  done,"  said  Mr.  Holbrook.  "  Now 
it  only  remains  to  get  your  teacher's  consent 
to  our  plan." 

Which  Mr.  Burrows  gave  by  wheeling  his 
table  from  before  the  blackboard,  and  pick- 
ing up  an  arithmetic.  "  You  may  come 
forward,  Edward ;  I  will  dictate  the  exam- 
ple ;  which  one  is  it  ? " 

"  The  thirty-ninth,  sir  ;  fifty-first  page." 

By  this  time  Tip  was  at  the  board.     How 


276  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

they  watched  him ;  how  fearful  his  teacher 
was  for  him ;  how  he  longed  to  have  him 
succeed  !  Tip  worked  fast  and  boldly  ;  his 
hand  did  not  tremble  ;  chalk  and  fingers  and 
brain  did  their  duty  ;  the  terrible  "  nine  in 
thirty-one,  how  many  tunes,"  as  a  test  for 
the  larger  number,  was  reached,  and  an 
unusually  large  and  bold  figure  three,  was 
placed  in  the  quotient ;  a  few  more  rapid 
dashes,  and  with  a  grand  flourish  after  the 
"  seventeen  remainder,"  Tip  threw  down  the 
chalk,  pushed  back  the  hair  from  his  hot 
temples,  and  walked  to  his  seat.  The  boys 
could  not  keep  quiet  any  longer ;  a  very 
softly  tapping  was  heard  at  first,  then,  find- 
ing they  were  not  silenced,  it  rose  to  a  loud 
decided  stamping  of  many  feet.  But  Mr. 
Holbrook  was  on  his  feet  again,  and  they 
were  quiet  directly,  for  the  report  was  final]} 
to  be  read. 

"  My  son,"  saic*    Mr.  Holbrook,  not  long 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  277 

after,  laying  his  hand  kindly  on  Ellis's 
shoulder,  as  he  was  hurrying  from  the 
room,  "  what  do  you  think  of  Edward's 
religion  to-night  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  is  honest,  sir,"  Ellis  answered, 
quickly.  "  Excuse  me,  father,  if  you  please  ; 
I  must  see  Howard  a  minute  before  he  goes," 
and  so  he  ran  away  from  his  father's  longing 
look. 

As  for  Tip,  he  borrowed  from  Howard 
Minturn  a  copy  of  the  village  paper,  whict 
came  out  a  few  days  after,  and  read  the 
report  of  the  examination  ;  read  this  sen- 
tence :  "  And,  among  all  the  pupils,  perhaps 
no  one  of  "horn  has  made  more  rapid 
or  astonishing  progress  than  has  Edward 
Lewis." 

Then,  while  the  twilight  deepened,  he 
turned  eagerly  to  the  next  column,  which 
read  in  this  way :  — 


278          TIP  LEWIS  AND  UIS  LAMP. 

"ROLL  OF  HONOR: 

"  Being  an  alphabetically  arranged  list  of 
those  who  passed  the  entire  examination 
without  making  an  error. 

WILLARD  BAILEY, 

ELLIS  HOLBROOK, 

HARVEY  JENNINGS, 

EDWARD  LEWIS." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


"I    WttL    LKAD    THEM     1H     PATHS    THAT    THBT    HATB     «OT 
KJfOWH." 


EE     here,    Tip,"     called    Mr.     Min 
turn,    appearing    in    his    store    door 
one    morning    not    long    after     the 
examination ;   "I    want  to    talk    to 
you." 

Tip  swung  his  basket  off  his  shoulder, 
and  went  into  the  store.  He  was  at  work 
for  Mr.  Dewey,  and  every  piece  of  meat 
which  he  carried  home  took  the  form,  in  his 
eyes,  of  a  Latin  grammar  and  a  dictionary  ; 
for  these  two  books  were  what  he  was  at 

present  aiming  after. 
279 


280  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  I'm  in  a  great  hurry,  Mr.  Mintum,"  be 
said;  "I've  got  a  piece  of  meat  for  your 
folks  in  my  basket,  and  I  expect  they  want 
it." 

"They'll  have  to  wait  till  they  get  it," 
answered  Mr.  Minturn ;  "  but  I  never  hin- 
der folks  long.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  yourself,  now  school's  out  ?  " 

"  Oh,  work ;  anything  I  can  find  to  do, 
while  vacation  lasts." 

"  So  you're  going  to  keep  on  at  school,  are 
you  ?  I  thought  likely,  since  your  father 
was  laid  up,  you'd  be  hunting  for  steady 
work,  so  you  could  help  the  family  along. 
There's  a  hard  winter  coming,  you  know." 

There  was  no  mistaking  Mr.  Minturn's 
tone.  It  said,  as  plainly  as  words  could 
have  done,  "  That's  what  I  think  you  ought 
to  do,  any  how." 

Tip  looked  troubled.  "  There's  nothing 
for  me  to  do,"  he  said,  at  last ;  "  I  don't  know 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  &IS  LAMP.  28 1 

of  a  place  in  this  town  where  I  could  get 
steady  work  that  I  could  do ;  and  besidesi 
if  there  was,  I'm  after  an  education  now." 

"  My  brother  is  here  from  Albany,"  Mr. 
Minturn  made  answer  to  this :  "  He  is  a  mer- 
chant, has  a  large  store  there,  and  keeps  a 
great  many  clerks.  He's  been  plagued  to 
death  lately  with  one  of  his  boys  ;  when  he 
sent  him  home  with  bundles,  he'd  open  them 
and  help  himself ;  and  my  brother  told  me 
last  night  if  I  could  warrant  him  a  boy,  who 
was  perfectly  honest,  he'd  take  him  home 
with  him,  pay  his  fare  down,  and  do  well  by 
him.  I  thought  of  you  right  away,  and  1 
told  my  brother  that  you  were  just  the  boy 
for  him  ;  you'd  be  as  true  as  steel ;  but  then, 
if  you're  going  to  keep  on  at  school,  it's  all 
up." 

Mr.  Minturn  did  not  add  that  he  had  kept 
his  brother  until  eleven  o'clock  the  night  be- 
fore, telling  him  Tip's  history ;  what  a  boy  he 


282  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMf. 

had  been,  how  he  had  changed,  how  he  was 
struggling  upward;  and,  finally,  the  whole 
story  of  the  examination,  —  the  failure,  the 
downfall,  the  public  confession,  —  nor  how 
his  brother  had  listened  eagerly,  and  had  said, 
with  energy,  after  the  story  was  finished,  — 

"  Such  a  boy  as  that  ought  to  be  helped  ; 
and  I'm  ready  to  help  him." 

None  of  this  did  Tip  hear,  but  he  stooped 
down  for  his  basket  when  Mr.  Minturn  had 
finished  speaking,  with  a  bright  blush  on  his 
cheek ;  it  was  something,  for  a  boy  like  him, 
to  be  called  "  as  true  as  steel." 

u  Yes,"  he  said,  decidedly ;  "I'm  going  to 
keep  on  at  school,  that's  certain  ;  thank  you 
all  the  same." 

And  out  he  went ;  yet  all  the  way  up  and 
down  the  streets  his  thoughts  were  busy 
over  what  he  had  just  heard.  It  was  time 
certainly,  as  poor  as  they  were,  that  he 
began  to  work;  his  mother's  sewing  sup- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  283 

ported  the  family  now,  and  hard  and  late 
into  the  nights  she  had  to  work  to  keep 
them  from  hunger.  Tip  had  thought  of  this 
question  before,  but .  had  always  comforted 
himself  with  the  thought  that  work  was  not 
by  any  means  an  easy  thing  to  get  in  the 
village ;  the  odd  jobs  which  he  could  find, 
out  of  school  hours,  being  really  the  only 
things  he  could  get  to  do.  But  no  such 
comfort  came  to  him  to-day ;  here  was  a 
chance,  and  a  splendid  one,  for  getting  steady 
work,  and  by-and-by,  good  wages  probably  ; 
why  wasn't  he  glad  ? 

Oh,  ever  since  he  gave  himself  to  Christ, 
there  had  been  in  his  heart  a  longing  to  get 
an  education,  and,  not  only  that,  but  to  be* 
come  a  minister.  Very  small,  faint  hopes  he 
had,  and  even  those  were  brightened  some- 
times at  their  own  boldness ;  but  every  day 
the  desire  grew  stronger,  and  it  did  not 
seem  as  though  he  could  possible  givo  up 


284  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

school  now.  It  was  out  of  the  question,  he 
told  himself,  just  as  he  was  beginning  to 
enjoy  his  books  so  much,  and  was  doiag 
well.  Mr.  Burrows  would  be  disappointed 
in  him;  he  had  encouraged  him  to  study. 
No,  it  couldn't  be  done.  He  would  consider 
the  matter  settled.  And  yet  there  was  his 
mother,  working  day  and  night,  and  he  her 
only  son  not  helping.  There  was  his  father, 
growing  weaker  every  day,  coughing  harder 
every  night ;  long  ago  they  had  given  up  the 
hope  that  the  cough  would  ever  leave  him. 
There  was  Kitty,  who  ought  to  be  in  school, 
but  could  not  because  her  mother  must  have 
the  little  help  which  she  could  give.  Tip 
was  half  distracted  with  thinking  about  it ; 
he  felt  provoked  at  Mr,  Minturn  and  Mr. 
Minturn's  brother  and  the  store  in  Albany 
and  the  boy  who  helped  himself  out  of  other 
peoples's  bundles  ;  they  were  all  trying  to 
cheat  him  out  of  his  education.  A  dozen 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  1118  LAMP. 


28b 


times  he  said  it  was  settled,  and  as  many 
times  began  at  the  beginning  to  think  it  all 
over  again.  He  went  home  finally,  after  the 
meat  was  carried  around ;  but  this  didn't 
help  him  any.  Home  hadn't  gone  back  to 
its  old  state  of  dirt  and  disorder ;  Kitty 's 
first  attempt  had  been  too  successful,  and  she 
had  liked  the  looks  of  things  too  well  to  give 
up ;  so  there  was  a  great  change  for  the 
better  in  the  housekeeping,  which  both  Kitty 
and  her  mother  enjoyed ;  still  there  was  no 
denying  that,  though  a  clean,  it  was  a  very 
forlorn  little  room,  with  very  few  things  for 
comfort  or  convenience.  Tip  had  never 
seen  this  with  such  wide  .open  eyes  as  he  did 
to-day ;  so  coming  home  did  not  quiet  the 
vexing  thoughts. 

He  split  wood  and  pumped  water  without 
whistling  a  note,  growing  more  sober  every 
minute.  At  last,  after  supper,  when  the 
work  was  all  done  that  he  could  do,  I* 


286  TIP  LEWIS  AMD  HIS  LAMf 

Irew  a  sigh  of  relief ;  it  was  so  nice  to  have 
dme  for  thought ;  he  could  go  up  to  his  attic, 
and  he  would  not  come  down,  no,  not  if  it 
wasn't  in  three  days,  until  this  thing  was 
decided  finally  and  forever. 

Kitty  sewed  steadily  on  the  seain  which 
her  mother  had  fixed  for  her,  and  wondered 
why  Tip  didn't  come  down  and  hear  her 
lesson,  which  had  been  ready  for  him  this 
hour.  It  was  another  hour  before  he  came  ; 
then  his  mother  said,  — 

"  Tip,  if  you've  a  cent  in  the  world,  do 
take  it,  and  go  and  get  your  father  some 
of  that  cough-candy.  I  do  believe  he  hasn't 
stopped  coughing  since  supper." 

Tip  took  his  hat  and  started  for  the  store ; 
as  he  went  he  whistled  a  little.  The  cough- 
candy  was  found  at  a  store  away  up  town, 
and,  getting  a  paper  of  it,  Tip  dashed  on 
around  the  corner  and  opened  Mr.  JVfinturn's 
store  door. 


TIP  LE  WIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  When  is  your  brother  going  home  ?  "  he 
asked  without  ceremony,  seeing-  Mr,  Min- 
turn  behind  the  counter. 

"  Next  Monday." 

"  Well,  I'm  going  to  talk  to  father,  and  1 
think  likely  I'll  want  to  go  along  with  him." 

«  All  right." 

So  Tip  slammed  to  the  door  and  ran  away, 
and  Mr.  Minturn  never  knew  what  a  down- 
fall that  decision  had  been  to  the  boy's  dear 
hopes  and  plans. 

It  was  all  settled  in  the  course  of  a  day  or 
two.  Mr.  Minturn,  from  Albany,  was  very 
kind.  Tip  was  to  have  wages  that  seemed  a 
small  fortune  to  him,  and  enough  had  been 
advanced  to  get  him  a  new  suit  of  clothes, 
which  his  mother  made. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  the  future 
would  look  bright  to  him  ;  yet  it  was  with  a 
very  sad  heart  that  he  took  his  seat  in 
prayer-meeting  that  Thursday  evening,  the 


288 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


last  time  he  expected  to  be  in  that  room  for 
—  he  didn't  know  how  long.  He  had  a  feel- 
ing that  he  ought  to  be  very  glad  and  thank- 
ful, and  wasn't  at  ail. 

Through  the  opening  hymns  and  prayers 
his  heart  kept  growing  heavier  every  mo- 
ment, and  it  was  not  until  Mr.  Holbrook 
arose,  and  repeated  the  text  which  he  had 
chosen  for  the  evening,  that  Tip  could 
arouse  himself  to  listen.  It  was  a  queer 
text,  so  he  thought  —  "  Who  shall  roll  away 
the  stone  I  "  What  could  Mr.  Holbrook  be 
going  to  say  on  that  ?  He  found  out,  and 
had  reason  to  remember  it  forever  after.  As 
be  went  out  from  that  meeting  his  thoughts, 
had  he  spoken  them,  would  have  been  like 
these : 

"  That's  true,  —  I  don't  believe  any  man 
but  Mr.  Holbrook  would  ever  have  thought, 
of  it ;  they  worried  at  a  great  rate  about  that 
stone,  how  they  would  get  it  rolled  away, 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  289 

and  when  they  got  there  ;t  was  gone.  I'll 
remember  that ;  I'll  do  just  as  I  said ;  when 
I  see  a  stone  ahead  of  me  I  won't  stop  and 
fret  about  it ;  I'll  walk  straight  up  to  it,  and 
when  I  get  there  may  be  it  will  roll  out  of 
my  way." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"A   WORD   FITLY   SPOKEN  18  LIKE  APPLES  OF   GOLD  Df  PIC- 
TURES OF  SILVER." 


EHOLD    Tip,   now    in    Albany,   far 
away   from   home   and  friends,  from 
every   one   that   he    had    ever    seen 
before,  .<$ve   Mr.    Howard   Minturn, 
young  Howard's  uncle. 

But  he  had  been  there  some  time,  and  was 
growing  into  a  settled-at-home  feeling.  It 
had  been  a  wonderful  change  to  him.  Mr. 
Minturn  did  not  board  his  clerks ;  but  for 
some  reason,  best  known  to  himself,  he  had 
taken  Tip  home  with  him.  For  a  few  days 
the  boy  felt  as  though  the  roses  on  the  car- 

290 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  291 

pets  were  made  of  glass,  and  would  smash  if 
he  stepped  on  them.  But  he  was  getting 
used  to  it  all ;  he  could  sit  squarely  on  his 
chair  at  the  table  instead  of  on  the  edge, 
spread  his  napkin  over  his  lap  as  the  others 
did,  and  eat  his  pie  with  a  silver  fork  under 
the  light  of  the  sparkling  gas. 

"  Mother,"  said  little  Alice  Minturn,  "  why 
does  father  have  Edward  board  here,  and  sit 
at  the  table  with  us  ?  " 

"  Because,  Alice,  your  father  wants  to  help 
him  in  every  way ;  your  uncle  Minturn  thinks 

• 

he  is  an  unusually  good,  smart  boy." 

"I  think  so  too,"  said  Alice,  and  was  sat- 
isfied. 

And  Tip  Lewis  was  Tip  no  longer ;  no  one 
knew  him  by  that  name ;  every  one  there  said 
"  Edward,"  save  the  store  clerks,  and  they 
called  him  "  Ed." 

He  had  a  queer  feeling  sometimes  that  he 
was  somebody  else,  and  that  Tip  Lewis, 


292  TIP  LEWIS  AND  111S  LAMP. 

whom  he  used  to  know  so  well,  would  be 
very  much  astonished  if  he  could  see  him 
now. 

He  went  into  Sabbath  school,  and  became  a 
member  of  Mr.  Minturn's  Bible  class ;  but 
teachers  were  scarce,  and  before  he  had  been 
there  three  weeks  Mr.  Minturn  sent  him  lo 
take  charge  of  a  class  of  very  little  boys  who 
called  him  "  Mr.  Lewis,"  and  made  him  feel 
strange  and  tall ;  he  began  to  realize  that  he 
was  almost  sixteen  years  old,  and  gi  owing 
very  fast. 

He  was  leading  a  very  busy  life  nowadays ; 
at  work  all  day,  in  and  for  the  store,  and  in 
the  evening  doing  all  he  could  with  his 
books.  Those  books  and  his  love  for  them, 
were  a  great  safeguard  to  him,  kept  him 
away  from  many  a  temptation  to  go  astray  ; 
and  yet  it  was  hard  work  to  accomplish  much 
in  the  little  time  he  had,  and  with  no  helper 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  293 

Sometimes    he    sighed   wearily   and    felt    as 
though  the  road  was  full  of  stones. 

"  I  pity  you  old  fellow,"  one  of  the  young- 
er clerks  said  to  him  one  evening,  as  they 
were  leaving  the  store. 

"  I  don't  know  for  what  V  "  was  the  good- 
natured  answer. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Minturn's  pink  of  a  perfect 
and  wonderful,  and  altogether  amazing  son 
Ray,  has  just  got  home  from  the  University  ; 
saw  him  pass  the  store  not  an  hour  ago  lean- 
ing back  in  the  carriage  like  a  prince." 

"  What's  he  ?  "  asked  Edward. 

"  He's  a  prig  ;  that's  what  he  is." 

"  What's  a  prig  ?  " 

"  Ho  !  you're  a  greeney,  if  you  don't  know 
what  a  prig  is,  —  wait  till  he  snubs  you  and 
lords  it  over  you  awhile  ;  then  I  guess  you'll 
know.  He'll  have  a  good  chance,  seeing 
you're  right  there  at  the  house  all  the  while 
I  wouldn't  be  in  your  shoes  for  a  penny." 


294  TIP  LEWI8  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Spite  of  its  making  him  a  great  greeney, 
Edward  did  not  know  what  a  prig  was  ;  but 
judging  from  his  companion's  tone,  he  de- 
cided that  it  must  be  something  very  dis- 
agreeable. He  went  home  feeling  cross  and 
uncomfortable,  wishing  that  Ray  were  any- 
body in  the  world  rather  than  Mr.  Minturn's 
son,  or  anywhere  else  rather  than  at  home. 
He  was  beginning  to  have  such  a  nice  time 
there ;  they  were  all  so  kind  to  him  and  really 
seemed  to  like  him  ;  it  was  too  bad  to  have 
it  all  spoiled. 

"  I  know  what  kind  of  a  fellow  ho  is,"  he 
muttered  to  himself;  "he's  like  that  Mr. 
Symonds  who  comes  to  the  store  twice  a 
week  or  so  after  kid  gloves,  and  acts  as  if 
he  thought  he  was  a  great  deal  too  good  to 
ask  me  a  decent  question.  My !  I  wish  he 
was  in  Texas." 

The  dining-room  was  a  blaze  of  light 
when  he  peeped  in;  soon  after,  the  family 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  295 

were  gathered,  waiting  for  Mr.  Minturn ;  the 
newcomer  sat  on  the  sofa,  one  arm  around 
little  Alice  and  the  other  resting  gently  on 
his  mother's  lap.  Edward  guessed,  by  his 
mother's  face,  that  she  did  not  wish  he  was 
in  Texas.  Mr.  Minturn  came  in  presently, 
and  Edward  stole  into  the  room  just  behind 
him ;  but  Alice  called  him,  eagerly,  — 

"  Edward,  Ray  has  come !  Come  over 
here  and  see  him." 

"  Go  ahead,"  said  Mr.  Minturn,  as  Ed- 
ward stood  still,  with  very  red  cheeks ;  and 
Ray  sat  up  and  held  out  his  hand. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Edward  ?  Alice  has 
been  making  me  acquainted  with  you  this 
afternoon,  so  you're  not  a  stranger." 

How  very  clear  and  kind  his  tones  were  ! 
Edward  was  astonished.  That  same  evening 
he  was  more  astonished.  He  was  in  the 
library  at  work  over  his  books ;  Mr.  Min- 
turn had  to  go  to  a  committee  meeting. 


-^  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIB  LAMP. 

expecting  to  be  detained  late ;  as  he  arose 
from  the  dinner-table  he  said,  — 

"  How  am  I  to  get  in,  to-night  ?  Here's 
my  night  key  in  two  pieces." 

"  I'll  be  night-key,  sir,"  said  Edward, 
promptly. 

"  Well,  you  may ;  you  can  take  your 
books  to  the  library  and  have  a  long  evening 
to  pour  over  them." 

So  he  was  there,  poring  over  them  with 
all  his  might,  when  the  door  opened  gently, 
and  Ray  Minturn  came  in. 

"  Are  you  hard  at  work  ? "  he  asked, 
kindly. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Edward,  wishing  he 
would  go  out  again.  But  he  didn't  seem 
in  a  hurry  to  do  so  ;  he  took  a  book  from 
the  case,  and  glanced  over  it  a  moment, 
Uien  came  towards  Edward. 

"  What  are  you  studying  ?  " 

14  Fractions,"  answered  Edward,  briefly. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


297 


"  Do  you  have  any  trouble  ?  " 

"  Yes,  lots,"  speaking  a  little  crossly,  for 
he  wanted  to  go  on  with  his  work  ;  "  I  can't 
get  this  one  I'm  at,  to  save  my  head." 

"  Suppose  I  see  what  is  the  matter  ? " 
And  Ray  drew  a  chair  to  the  table,  and 
sat  down,  glancing  his  eye  over  the  slate. 

"  Rather,  suppose  you  see  for  yourself," 
he  said,  in  a  few  moments.  "  Just  run 
over  that  multiplication  at  the  top  of  the 
slate." 

"  Oh,  bother  !  "  Edward  said,  after  he  had 
obeyed  orders  ;  "  that  figure  three  has  made 
me  all  this  trouble." 

"  Smaller  things  than  figure  threes  make 
trouble.  Have  you  been  to  school  lately  ?  " 

"  Always,  till  I  came  here ;  but  I  might 
just  as  well  have  been  out  until  last  win- 
ter." 

"  What  happened  last  winter  ?  " 

"  Lots  of  things,"  answered  Edward,  with 


298  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

brightening  eyes.  But  he  didn't  seem  dis- 
posed to  state  any  of  them ;  so,  after  waiting 
a  little,  Ray  asked,  — 

"  Wouldn't  you  get  on  faster  with  your 
books  if  you  had  a  teacher  ?  " 

"  Think  likely  I  should ;  but  I  haven't  got 
any,  so  I'll  have  to  get  on  as  fast  as  I  can." 

"  How  would  it  do  if  I  should  play  teacher 
while  I  am  at  home,  and  give  you  the  hour 
from  nine  till  ten  ?  " 

Edward  laid  down  his  pencil,  turned  his 
eyes  for  the  first  time  full  upon  Ray,  and 
looked  at  him  in  silent  astonishment. 

"  Do  you  mean  it  ?  "  he  asked,  at  last. 

"  Certainly,  I  do ;  I  shouldn't  say  so  if  I 
difln't.  Don't  you  think  you  would  like 
it?" 

"  Like  it !  I  guess  I  would.  But  I  don't 
know What  do  you  do  it  for  ?  " 

"Because  I  am  glad  to  help  a  boy  who 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


299 


seems  to  be  trying  to  help  himself;  we  will 
consider  it  settled,  then.  It  is  ten  o'clock  ; 
will  you  corne  out  to  prayers  now  ?  " 

And  at  this  the  astonished  look   on  En 
wards  face  deepened. 

"  Is  Mr.  Minturn  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No ;  but  his  son  is.  Are  you  so  sur- 
prised that  I  should  have  prayers  in  my 
father's  absence  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Edward;"!  didn't  know— 
I  mean  I  didn't  think " 

"  You  didn't  think  I  had  learned  to  pray, 
perhaps.  Thank  God,  I  have."  Then  he 
laid  his  hand  kindly  on  Edward's  shoulder, 
"  Have  you  learned  that  precious  lesson  yet, 
my  friend  ?  " 

"  Yeb,"  said  Edward,  softly ;  "  a  good 
while  ago." 

"  I  am  very  glad  ,  you  will  never  learu 
anything  else  that  is  quite  so  important. 


300 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAM1-. 


What  is  all  this  study  for,  by  the  way  ?  have 
you  any  plans  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Edward,  astonished  at  what 
he  was  about  to  tell  to  a  stranger  ;  "  I  want 
to  get  an  education,  and  then,  if  I  possibly 
can  do  that,  I  want  to  be  a  minister." 

Ray's  hand  fell  from  his  shoulder,  and 
when  he  answered  this,  his  voice  was  low, 
and  a  little  sad. 

"  God  bless  you,  and  help  you.  I  hope 
you  will  never  have  to  give  it  up." 

Edward  made  up  his  mind  that  night,  that 
a  prig  meant  the  best  and  kindest,  —  yes, 
and  the  wisest,  young  man  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"  WHATSOEVEK  TE  WOULD  THAT  MEN  SHOULD  DO  TC  rou, 

PO  TE  EVEN   80  TO   THEM." 

long,  bright  summer  days  and 
the  glowing  autumn  days  were  gone ; 
mid-winter  was  upon  them.  During 
all  this  time  Edward  was  hard  at 

•V 

work ;  there  was  plenty  of  business  to  be 
done  at  the  store.  He  had  been  promoted  ; 
very  rarely,  nowadays,  was  he  called  on  to 
carry  home  purchases,  or  to  do  errands.  He 
had  his  counter  and  his  favorite  customers. 
There  had  been  another  change,  too,  which 
Edward  felt  sure  Ray  had  had  a  hand  in  ; 

Ray  had  a  hand  in  everything  that  was  good 
SOI 


oUZ  TIP  LEWIS  AND  MS  LAMP. 

and  thoughtful.  He  had  long  evenings  for 
study  now  ;  he  came  up  to  dinner  with  Mr. 
Minturn  at  six  o'clock,  and  had  no  further 
work  to  do  until  the  next  day.  Oh,  those 
long  evenings !  What  rapid  progress  he 
made ;  what  a  teacher  Ray  was !  Could  a 
boy  help  getting  on  who  was  so  carefully  and 
kindly  led  ?  " 

What  was  not  Ray  to  him  ?  teacher,  friend, 
brother;  constant,  unfailing,  loving  guide 
Edward  was  learning  to  love  him  with  an 
almost  worship. 

Meantime,  e\  ery  one  saw  better  than  did 
Edward  himself  how  he  had  changed.  He 
had  not  been  in  constant  intercourse  with  a 
Christian  family,  who  lived  their  religion 
every  day  and  every  hour,  for  nothing ; 
his  improvement  had  been  constant  and 
rapid. 

He  came  home  from"  the  post-office  one 
evening  with  his  hands  full  of  letters,  among 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  303 

them  a  very  queer-looking  one  for  himself. 
He  carried  the  others  to  the  library,  and  his 
own  to  his  room.  Such  an  odd  letter  as  it 
was  !  He  was  glad  it  was  his  business  to  get 
the  mail,  and  that  none  of  the  other  clerks 
had  seen  this  with  his  name  written  at  the 
very  top  of  the  envelope,  and  written  "  Tip  *' 
at  that.  How  oddly  it  looked ;  and  how 
queerly  it  sounded  when  he  said  it  over !  It 
was  so  long  since  he  heard  that  name,  he 
never  wanted  to  again.  He  was  glad  that 
Ray  Minturn  had  never  called  him  Tip,  nor 
heard  him  called  so. 

Who  could  it  be  from  ?  Nobody  wrote  to 
him  except  Kitty,  and  once  in  a  long  while 
his  mother ;  but  this  was  no  home-letter.  At 
last  he  broke  the  seal  and  read :  " 

"DEER  TIP,  —  "  Mother's  dead,  I  feel  bad, 
you  kno  that,  so  what's  the  use  ?  I've  got 
to  go  to  work.  I  like  you  better  than  any 


304  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

of  the  other  felows,  always  did.    Can't  I  com 
out  there  to  your  store  and  work,  I'll  behave 
myself    reel   wel ;   I  will,   honor  bright,   if 
you'll  git  me  a  place.     I've  got  money  enuff 
to  get   there.     I  dug  potatoes  for  old  Wil 
liams   and  earned   it.     Rite   to   me   rite  ofl 
that's  a  good  fellow.     I  want  to  com  awful, 

"BoB  TURNER." 

Edward  was  thunderstruck !  he  dropped 
the  letter  on  the  floor  in  disgust.  What 
was  to  be  done  now  ?  The  idea  of  having 
Bob  Turner  there  was  perfectly  dreadful ; 
besides,  thank  fortune,  it  was  impossible ; 
they  wanted  more  help,  to  be  sure,  had  been 
Jooking  out  for  a  boy  that  very  day,  but  not 
such  a  one  as  Bob,  that  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  and  yet  —  Bob's  mother  was  dead ! 
In  his  rude,  careless  way,  Bob  had  loved  his 
mother  rather  better  than  he  had  any  one 
else  ,  and  Edward  did  not  doubt  that  he  fol* 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  30,' 

badly ;  he  was  without  friends  now ;  surely, 
he  needed  one  if  he  ever  did.  But  it  was  so 
disagreeable  to  think  of  having  him  there  — 
he  was  so  different  from  any  of  the  others, 
and  he  would  call  him  Tip,  and  be  always 
around  in  his  way  ;  would  seem  to  lead  him 
back  to  the  old  life  from  which  he  thought 
he  had  escaped  altogether.  It  was  not  to  be 
thought  of  fora  moment.  But  then — and 
now  came  a  startling  thought.  How  long  he 
had  been  praying  for  Bob  !  Perhaps  this 
was  the  way  in  which  God  meant  to  answer, 
by  giving  him  a  chance  to  work  as  well  as 
pray.  Perhaps  he  ought  to  be  witting  to 
have  him  come.  No  matter  how  much  the 
clerks  might  make  fun  of  him  for  having 
such  a  friend ;  no  matter  how  much  pain  and 
annoyance  it  might  cause  him ;  if  this  was 
God  speaking  to  him  to  help  his  brother,  how 
dreadful  it  would  be  to  make  no  answer ! 
He  sat  down  to  think  about  it ;  his  algebra 


306  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

lay  open  before  him  ;  he  was  not  quite  ready 
for  Ray,  but  he  could  not  attend  to  algebra 
now. 

"  Let  me  see,"  he  said  ;  "  if  there  should 
be  such  a  thing  as  that  Bob  could  come, 
what  would  I  do  for  him  ?  One  of  two 
things  is  certain,  either  he'll  lead  me  or  I 
shall  him ;  we  always  did  when  we  were  to- 
gether much.  Which  will  it  be  ?  If  he 
leads  me  he's  lead  me  into  mishief,  just  as 
sure  as  the  world  ;  if  I  lead  liim,  I'll  try  to 
keep  him  out  of  mischief.  It's  clear  that  I 
ought  to  be  the  leader.  Now,  how  would  I 
do  it,  I  wonder  ?  Bob  ought  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian ;  he  won't  be  safe  two  minutes  at  a  time 
until  he  is.  If  God  says  anything,  he  says 
he'll  hear  prayer.  If  I  believe  that,  why  don't 
I  pray  for  Bob,  so  that  he'll  be  converted.  I 
do  pray  for  him  always,  but  it's  kind  of  half- 
way praying  —  kind  of  as  if  I  thought  it  was 
a  pretty  hard  thing  for  God  to  do  after 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  EIS  LAMP.  307 

til.  That's  wrong.  God  wants  hiin  safe, 
incl  he  knows  he  isn't  safe  now,  and  he's 
milling  to  help  him ;  it  must  be  my  fault 
that  he  don't.  My  business  and  lessons, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  are  putting 
Bob  and  Ellis,  and  even  father,  pretty  much 
out  of  my  thoughts.  That's  wrong  too,  and 
must  be  stopped.  Mr.  Minturn  says  a  thing 
is  never  half  done  that  hasn't  a  corner  in  the 
day  belonging  to  itself.  I'll  try  that  rule. 
After  this,  every  evening  at  half-past  eight 
I'll  come  up  here  to  my  room  and  lock  the 
door,  and  I'll  pray  for  Bob;  I'll  pray  as 
though  I  expected  an  answer,  and  was  going 
to  be  on  the  lookout  for  it.  I  won't  let  any- 
thing hinder  me  from  coming  at  just  that 
time,  unless  it's  something  that  I  can't  help. 
Meantime,  I'll  get  him  a  place  if  I  can." 

Edward  was  as  straightforward  as  Tip  had 
been  ;  thi?  point  decided,  he  went  down  stairs 
to  the  library  door,  and  knocked. 


308  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Mr.  Mint/urn  was  alone,  and  busy  ;  but  he 
looked  up  as  Edward  entered  in  answer  to 
his  "  Come  in." 

"Well,  sir;  what  is  it?*' 

"  Have  you  time  for  a  little  piece  of  busi- 
ness ?  " 

"  Always  time  for  business ;  sit  down. 
What  is  it  about  ?  " 

"  Have  you  found  a  boy  yet?  " 

"  No.     Have  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  there's  a  boy  out  home  who 
wants  to  come  ;  I've  just  had  a  letter  from 
him  ;  his  name  is  Turner  —  Bob  Turner." 

"  Is  he  a  good  boy  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Well !  that's  plain  ;  what  are  you  talking 
about  then  ?  " 

"I  want  you  to  make  him  a  good  boy, 
sir." 

•k  Humph  !  that's  an  idea.  I  can't  make 
boys  over  new ;  is  he  honest  ?  " 


TIP  LE  WIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  309 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't  think  he  is  very  ;  not 
what  you  mean  by  honest ;  but  his  mother  is 
dead,  and  he  hasn't  any  friends ;  he  goes 
with  a  miserable  set  of  fellows,  and  he'll  get 
worse  than  he  is  in  no  time  if  he  stays 
there." 

**  And  the  whole  of  it  is,  you  think  it's  my 
duty  to  let  him  come,  and  try  to  save  him  ! 
Suppose  I  should,  what  would  you  do  for 
your  share  ?  " 

"  I'd  try,  too," 

"  How  ?  " 

"  Why,  I'd  try  to  get  him  to  do  right." 

"Suppose  he  should  try  to  get  you  to  do 
wrong  ?  " 

"  He  couldn't !  "  said  Edward,  positively. 

"  How  did  you  find  that  out  ?  " 

"  Because  I  should  pray  for  myself  every 
day,  and  for  Bob  too ;  and  God  hears 
prayer." 

"  Yes,   but    God's   people    sometimes  get 


310  TIP  LEWIB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

very  far  away  from  him  ;  if  this  Bob  should 
lead  you  astray,  I'd  be  sorry  I  ever  heard  of 
him." 

"  I  don't  feel  much  afraid,"  Edward  said, 
speaking  this  time  in  a  more  quiet,  less  posi 
tive  tone,  "for  I  never  go  wrong  when  1 
pray  often ;  pray  about  everything  that  comes 
up,  you  know,  and  mean  what  I  pray  for." 

"  Humph,"  said  Mr.  Minturn,  "  that's  a- 
good  idea ;  I  guess  you're  pretty  safe  under 
that  rule." 

"  Besides,"  said  Edward  reserving  one  of 
his  best  arguments  till  the  last,  "  I  know 
somebody  who  would  help  Bob  ever  so 
much,  —  Mr.  Ray  would  find  him  out." 

Mr.  Minturn's  eyes  grew  bright,  and  he 
smiled  a  half  sad  smile. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  that's  true  enough ;  Ray 
can't  come  near  anybody  without  helping 
him.  Well,  write  to  the  boy  to  come  on ; 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  311 


we'll   try   him ;    has  he   anything   to    come 

•  i  i       r\    *« 


with  ? " 


'  Yes,  sir,  he  says  he  has  money  enoug  >  to 
get  here."  And  Edward  went  away  glad, 
for  he  had  begun  to  be  very  willing  to  have 


Bob  there. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


"IF  YE  ABIDE  IN  ME,  AND  MY  WORD  ABIDE  IN  TOT,  TB 
BHALL  ASK  WHAT  TB  WILL,  AND  IT  SHALL  BB  DONE  UNTO 
YOU." 


'DWARD  got  up,  one  morning,  feel- 
ing years  older  than  he  had  only  the 
morning  before,  —  older  and  graver, 
—  feeling  a  great  responsibility  rest- 
ing on  his  shouiu;,..  ;  for  he  was  fatherless  ! 
The  weary  frame,  rad:ed  with  so  many 
pains,  was  at  last  at  rest.  Kitty  had  written 
just  a  line,  telling  the  sad  story,  but  it  did 
not  reach  him  until  nearly  a  week  after ; 
and  with  it  came  Mr.  Holbrook's,  —  a  long 
letter,  full  of  tender  sympathy,  telling  all 
812 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HJS  LAMP.  313 

about  how,  in  the  afternoon  of  an  early 
spring  day,  they  had  laid  his  father  by  John- 
ny's side. 

Edward  read  on  eagerly,  until  he  came  to 
this  sentence  :  "  My  dear  boy,  I  have  a  most 
precious  message  for  you  ;  I  was  with  him 
only  an  hour  before  he  died,  and  at  that  time 
he  said  to  me,  '  I  want  you  to  tell  Tip  that 
God  has  heard  his  prayer,  and  saved  his 
father ;  and  that  I  shall  watch  for  him  to 
come  to  heaven,  and  bring  all  the  rest.' 
And,  Edward,  I  haven't  a  shade  of  doubt 
but  that  your  father  is  with  his  Redeemer  ; 
you  must  let  me  quote  again,  a  verse  which 
I  once  gave  you  :  '  I  love  the  Lord,  because 
he  has  heard  my  voice  and  my  supplica- 
tions.' " 

And  at  this  point  the  letter  dropped  from 
his  hand,  and  Edward  shed  his  first  tears  for 
his  father. 

It   was   curious,   the   different    ways   that 


314  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

Air.  Minturn  and  his  son  had  of  expressing 
sympathy. 

"  Oh,"  Mr.  Minturn  said,  when  he  was 
told,  "  why  in  the  world  didn't  they  send  for 
you  ?  " 

"  Because,  sir,  my  father  died  very  sud- 
denly, and  my  mother  thought  I  could  not 
afford  to  come  so  far  for  the  funeral." 

"  Afford  !  as  if  that  would  have  made  any 
difference.  Did  they  think  I  would  let  it 
cost  you  anything  ?  :' 

Edward  showed  Mr.  Holbrook's  letter  to 
Ray  after  that ;  and  when  it  had  been  read, 
expressed  the  feeling  which  had  been  much 
in  his  heart  ever  since  the  news  came,  and 
which  had  been  strengthened  by  Mr.  Min- 
turn's  words. 

"  I  shall  always  be  sorry  that  I  could  not 
have  gone  to  the  funeral." 

And  Ray  answered,  resting  his  arm  as  he 
spoke,  lightly  on  Edward's  shoulder,  to  ex- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP  315 

wess  the  tenderness  which  he  felt,  "  No  you 
won't,  my  dear  fellow;  when  you  get  up 
there,  in  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer's  pres- 
ence, and  meet  your  father  face  to  face,  you 
will  not  remember  to  be  sorry  that  you  did 
not  see  him  buried." 

Meantime  Bob  had  come,  and  been  set  at 
work.  He  did  not  board  at  Mr.  Minturn's ; 
Edward  had  heard  that  matter  arranged 
with  a  little  sigh  of  relief ;  his  precious  hour 
with  Ray,  then,  would  be  undisturbed. 

Bob  was  doing  very  much  better  than 
anybody  who  knew  him  would  have  imag- 
ined he  could  do  ;  he  seemed  to  have  made 
up  his  mind  to  behave  himself,  sure  enough. 
Yet  his  being  there  was  a  trial  to  Edward 
in  several  ways,  —  he  had  a  great  horror  of 
being  called  "  Tip  ;  "  that  name  belonged  to 
the  miserable,  ragged,  friendless,  hopeless 
boy,  who  used  to  wander  around  the  streets 
in  search  of  mischief ;  not  to  the  young  man 


316 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


who  was  a  faithful  clerk  in  one  of  the  finest 
stores  in  Albany,  besides  being  a  teacher  in 
Sabbath  school,  and  a  very  fair  scholar  in 
Latin  and  algebra.  But  Bob  Turner  could 
not  be  made  to  understand  all  this ;  and 
though  he  stared  at  the  neat  black  suit  which 
Edward  wore,  and  opened  his  eyes  wide, 
when  Mr.  Minturn  went  and  came  in  com- 
pany with  his  old  companion,  and  honored 
him  in  many  ways,  he  still  called  him  "  Tip," 
in  clear,  round  tones,  that  rang  through  the 
store  a  dozen  times  a  day.  But  there  was 
nothing  which  Ray  could  not  smooth  over, 
so  Edward  thought,  when  one  evening  he 
flounced  into  the  library  with  a  very  much 
disturbed  face. 

"  I  wish  that  fellow  knew  anything,"  he 
said,  angrily. 

"  What  is  the  matter  now  ?  "  Ray  asked, 
meeting  the  bright,  angry  eyes  with  a  quiet 
smile. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  317 

Edward  laughed  a  little.  "  Well,  I  can't 
help  feeling  vexed ;  Bob  screeches  that  hate- 
ful little  name  after  me,  wherever  I  go.  1 
despise  that  name,  and  I  wish  he  could  be 
made  to  understand  it." 

"  How  did  you  happen  to  be  called  Tip  at 
first?" 

"  Why,"  said  Edward,  turning  over  the 
leaves  of  his  dictionary,  "  my  little  sister 
Kitty  made  it  up  before  she  could  talk 
plain ;  how  she  ever  got  that  name  out  of 
Edward,  I  don't  know ;  I'm  sure  I  wish  she 
had  been  asleep  when  she  did  it ;  but  that's 
what  she  called  me,  and  that's  what  I've 
been  ever  since." 

"  And  did  Johnny,  the  little  boy  that  died, 
ever  call  you  so  ?  " 

Edward's  eyes  began  to  grow  soft. 

"  Often,"  he  said,  gently  ;  "  and  it  was 
about  the  only  name  he  could  speak  ;  he  was 
a  little  fellow." 


318  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"Well,  Edward,  I  should  not  think  it 
would  be  such  a  very  disagreeable  name  to 
you,  when  your  father,  who  is  gone,  always 
used  it,  and  always  in  kindness,  you  told 
me ;  and  it  is  the  only  name  by  which  little 
Johnny  can  remember  you.  There  are  two 
things  to  be  thought  of  in  this  matter,"  Ray 
continued,  after  a  moment,  finding  Edward 
not  disposed  to  speak  ;  "  one  is,  if  you  hope 
to  do  any  thing  with  this  old  companion  of 
yours,  you  must  be  ready  to  take  worse 
things  from  him  than  a  quiet,  inoffensive 
little  name  like  that;  he  will  learn  your 
right  name,  perhaps,  in  time.  And  the 

other  is What   is   Bob  Turner's  right 

name,  my  friend  ?  " 

Edward's,  face  flushed,  his  lips  quivered 
(nto  a  little  smile,  then  he  laughed  outright. 

"  It  would  be  ridiculous  to  call  him  Rob- 
ert!"  he  said,  still  laughing,  "  Ray,  here's 
cny  exercise,  if  you  want  it  now." 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  319 

And  Ray  heard  no  more  complaints  about 
the  offending  little  name. 

"  Say,  Tip,  just  go  home  with  me  to-night  ?" 
Bob  coaxed  one  evening,  as  Edward,  hav- 
ing been  detained  late  at  the  store,  was  leav- 
ing just  as  Bob  was  closing  the  shutters  ; 
"  Mr.  Ray's  head  is  so  bad  you  won't  have 
any  plaguey  lessons  to-night  to  hinder  you. 
Every  single  fellow  in  the  store  but  me  is 
going  to  the  theatre,  and  I  am  awful  lonesome 
up  there  alone." 

"It  is  a  wonder  you  are  not  going  too," 
said  Edward. 

"  No,  it  ain't.  I  can  keep  a  promise  once 
in  a  while,  I  reckon.  That  Ray  Minturn  can 
do  anything  with  a  fellow,  and  I  was  fool 
enough  to  promise  him  that  I  wouldn't  go. 
Come,  go  up  home  with  me ;  do,  that's  a 
good  fellow." 

"  No,"  said  Edward,  decidedly,  "  I  can't." 

"Now,  Tip  Lewis,  I  think  you're  real  mean ; 


320  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

you  don't  never  come  to  see  me  no  more 
than  if  I  was  in  Guinea.  You  act  as  if  you 
were  ashamed  of  me,  and  I  keep  ray  word 
and  behave  myself,  too  ;  and  you're  a  mean, 
chicken-hearted  fellow,  if  you're  ashamed  to 
notice  me  nowadays,  just  because  you  board 
in  a  big  house  and  dress  like  a  dandy." 

"  Poh  !  "  said  Edward,  "  what  nonsense 
that  is!  I'd  look  well  being  ashamed  of 
any  one  that  Minturn  talked  with ;  but,  Bob, 
I  can't  go  to-night,  nor  any  other  night  just 
about  this  time ;  because  I  made  a  promise 
that  I'd  do  something  else,  at  exactly  half- 
past  eight,  and  that  nothing  in  the  world 
should  hinder  me  if  J  could  help  it ;  and  it 
can't  be  far  from  half-past  eight  now." 

Bob  eyed  him  curiously.  u  Tip,  you're  the 
oddest  fellow  born,  I  do  believe,"  he  said,  at 
last.  "  Is  it  lessons  ?  " 

"  No  ;  it's  nothing  about  lessons." 

"  Couldn't  I  help  you  do  it  ?  " 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  321 

%k  Yes,"  said  Edward,  after  a  thoughtful  si- 
lence ;  "  you  could  help  me  better  than  any 
one  else,  only  you  won't." 

"  Well,  now,"  Bob  answered  earnestly,  "as 
sure  as  I'm  alive  I  will,  if  you'll  tell  me 
what  it  is  ;  I'll  help  you  this  very  night." 

"  Do  you  promise  ?  "  asked  Edward. 

"  Yes  I  do,  out  and  out ;  and  when  I  prom- 
ise a  thing  through  and  through,  why  you 
know  Tip  Lewis,  that  I  do  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Edward,  as  he  tried  the  dooi 
to  see  that  all  was  safe  before  leaving ;  "  then 
I'll  tell  you.  Every  night,  at  exactly  half- 
past  eight,  I  go  to  my  room  and  ask  God 
over  and  over  again  to  make  you  want  to 
be  a  Christian." 

Not  a  single  word  did  Bob  answer  to  this ; 
he  took  long  strides  up  the  street  by  the 
side  of  Edward  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Min- 
turn's,  never  once  speaking  until  they  had 


12*2 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


leached  the  door  and  stood  waiting  to  be  let 
in  ;  then  he  said,  "  Tip,  that's  mean." 

"What  is?" 

"  To  get  a  fellow  to  promise  what  he  can't 
do." 

"  I  have  not.  Don't  you  want  to  be  a 
Christian  '! " 

"  No  ;  I  can't  say  that  I'm  particular  about 
it." 

"  But  that's  too  silly  to  believe ;  you  need  a 
friend  to  help  you  about  as  badly  as  any  one 
I  know  of,  and  when  you  can  have  one  for 
the  asking,  why  shouldn't  you  want  him  ? 
Besides,  I  didn't  say  make  you  a  Christian, 
%ny  how  ;  I  said  make  you  want  to  be  one. 
You  can  pray,  that  I'm  sure ;  any  way,  you 
promised,  and  I  trusted  you." 

Bob  followed  him  through  the  hall,  up  the 
stairs,  to  his  neat  little  room,  and  whistled 
"  Hail  Columbia,"  while  he  lighted  a  match 
and  turned  on  the  gas. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  318  LAMP.  323 

"  My  !  you  have  things  in  style  here 
don't  you  ?  "  he  said,  looking  around,  while 
the  bright  light  gleamed  over  the  pretty  car- 
pet and  shining  furniture. 

"  Yes,"  said  Edward ;  "  everything  in  this 
house  is  in  style.  Bob,  it's  half-past  eight." 

"Well,"  Bob  said,  good-naturedly,  "I'd 
like  to  know  what  I'm  to  do ;  this  is  new 
business  to  me,  you  see." 

"  I'm  going  to  kneel  down  here  and  pray 
for  you,  and  you  promised  to  do  the  same." 

Edward  knelt  at  his  bedside,  and  Bob,  half 
laughing,  followed  his  example.  But  Christ 
must  have  been  praying  too,  and  putting 
words  into  Edward's  heart  to  say.  By  and 
by,  in  spite  of  himself,  Bob  had  to  put  up  his 
hand  and  dash  away  a  tear  or  two.  He  had 
never  heard  himself  prayed  for  before. 

That  evening  was  one  to  be  remembered 
by  Bob  Turner,  for  more  than  one  reason. 
Ray  sent  for  both  of  the  boys  to  come  to  his 


324 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP, 


room ;  he  was  sick,  but  not  too  sick  to  see 
and  talk  with  Bob  whenever  he  could  get  a 
chance.  He  made  the  half  hour  spent  with 
him  so  pleasant,  that  Bob  gave  an  eager  as- 
sent to  the  request  that  he  would  come  often. 
More  than  that,  he  kept  his  word ;  and  as  of- 
ten as  he  passed  Edward's  door,  towards  nine 
o'clock,  he  stepped  lightly,  for  he  knew  that 
he  was  being  prayed  for,  and  there  began  to 
come  into  his  heart  a  strange  longing  to  pray 
for  himself.  One  evening  he  discovered  that 
Ray,  too,  prayed  every  night  for  him,  and  the 
vague  notion  grew  into  a  certainty  that  what 
they  two  were  so  anxious  about  for  him,  he 
ought  to  desire  for  himself. 

"  Ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be 
done  unto  you." 

Edward  had  taken  this  promise  into  his 
heart,  he  was  trying  to  live  up  to  the  condi- 
tion to  abide  in  Christ,  and  in  due  season 
God  made  his  promise  sure. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  325 

I  wish,"  Bob  said  to  Ray  one  evening, 
when  the  weary  head  was  full  of  pain,  "  I  do 
wish  I  could  do  something  for  you." 

"You  can,"  Ray  answered,  quickly;  "some- 
thing that  I  would  like  better  than  almost 
anything  else  in  the  world." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  Bob's  question  was  sincere 
and  eager. 

"  Give  yourself  to  Christ." 

Bob  heard  this  in  grave,  earnest  silence. 

"  I  would,"  he  said,  after  a  minute,  "  if  1 
knew  how." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do  ;  I'm  sick  of  waiting,  and  I'm 
sick  of  myself." 

"  If  I  should  tell  you  how,  would  you  dc 
it?" 

"  Yes,  I  would,"  spoken,  evidently,  with 
honest  meaning 

"  Kneel  down,  then,  here  beside  me,  and 
say  to  God  that  you  want  to  be  a  Christian ; 


826  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

that  you  are  willing  to  give  yourself  up  to  him 
now  and  forever,  to  do  just  as  he  tells  you." 

Bob  hesitated,  struggling  a  little,  and  at 
last  knelt  down.  There  was  silence  in  ihe 
room  while  three  sincere  hearts  were  lifted 
up  in  prayer  ;  and,  surely,  Christ  bent  low  to 
listen.  When  Bob  would  have  risen,  Ray 
laid  one  hand  on  his  arm,  and  steadying  his 
throbbing  head  with  the  other,  said,  sol- 
emnly, — 

"•  Blessed  Redeemer,  here  is  a  soul  given 
up  to  thee.  Do  thou  take  it,  and  wash  it  in 
thy  precious  blood,  and  make  it  fit  for  heaven. 
We  ask  boldly,  because  thou  hast  promised, 
and  we  know  that  thy  promises  are  sure." 

"  Edward,"  Ray  said  the  next  evening,  ass 
they  sat  alone,  and  were  silent  for  a  little, 
after  Bob  had  left  them,  and  gone  home 
rejoicing  in  the  hope  of  sins  washed  awayj 
"  what  was  that  verse  that  your  minister  at 
home  quoted  for  you  in  his  letter  ?  " 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

"  I  love  the  Lord,  because  he  has  heard 
my  voice  and  my  supplication."  Edward 
repeated  it  with  brightening  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


"AHD  WHKN  THBT   LOOKED,     THEY    SAW  THAT  THM    BTOHK 
WA8   ROLLED  AWAT." 


NWARD  sped  the  busy  days,  until 
at  last  there  came  an  evening  which 
made  it  exactly  -uree  years  since 
Edward  had  first  set  foot  in  Albany. 
They  had  been  years  of  wonderful  progress 
to  him.  He  had  gone  on  steadily  with  his 
evening  studies  ;  he  had  been  an  eager 
pupil,  and  Ray  had  been  a  faithful  teacher. 
This  evening  he  sat  in  the  library  waiting 
for  Ray,  but  he  had  a  very  troubled  face. 
Once  more  he  took  Kitty's  long  letter  out 
of  his  pocket.  Kitty  wrote  long  letters 
828 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


329 


once  in  two  weeks,  but  it  was  a  rare  thing  to 
have  a  postscript  added  by  his  mother.  He 
turned  to  this  and  read  it  again ;  it  was  a 
very  kind  one ;  they  were  doing  well  now, 
so  she  wrote ;  her  health  was  very  good,  now 
that  she  slept  quietly  at  night ;  and  just  here 
Edward  knew  there  had  come  in  a  heavy 
sigh,  because  there  was  no  constant  coughing 
to  disturb  her  rest.  She  had  steady  work, 
and  could  support  Kitty  and  herself  nicely 
without  his  help ;  he  must  keep  what  he 
earned  for  himself  after  this.  "  Kitty  says 
you  want  to  go  to  school,"  so  the  letter  ran  ; 
"if  you  do,  save  up  your  money  for  that. 
Your  poor  father  had  a  notion  that  you 
would  make  a  scholar  ;  I  think  it  would 
please  him  if  you  did." 

Surely,  he  could  not  wish  for  a  kinder, 
more  thoughtful  letter,  than  this ;  coming 
from  his  mother  too  !  she  must  have  changed 
much,  as  well  as  himself.  But  this  very 


330 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  Hlb  LAMf. 


let  ter  had  greatly  unsettled  his  quiet  life,  — 
the  old  longing  to  give  himself  up  to  study, 
to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  had  broken 
loose,  and  well  nigh  overwhelmed  him  with 
its  power.  He  wanted  it,  oh,  so  much ;  it 
had  grown  strong,  instead  of  weak,  during 
these  three  years.  But  what  to  do,  and  how 
to  do  it  ?  That  was  the  question.  Certain- 
ly, he  was  not  prepared  to  answer  it.  If  he 
stayed  where  he  was,  led  his  busy  life  all  day 
in  the  store,  how  was  he  ever  to  go  through 
with  the  necessary  course  of  study,  which  it 
was  high  time  he  commenced  in  earnest  ? 
If  he  left  them,  these  dear  friends,  who  had 
taken  him  into  their  home  and  hearts,  and 
made  him  feel  like  one  of  them ;  how  was 
he  to  live,  while  he  studied  ?  How,  indeed, 
could  he  study  at  all  ?  The  truth  was,  Ed- 
ward, calling  to  mind  Mr.  Holbrook's  lecture 
that  last  evening  in  the  home  prayer-meet- 
ing, and  his  resolution  taken  then,  thought 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  331 

chat  the  stone  was  ahead  of  him  no  longer, 
but  that  he  had  walked  close  up  to  it,  and 
could  not  take  another  step  because  of  it, 
and  very  large  and  impossible  to  move  did 
it  look  to  his  short-sighted  eyes. 

Just  as  he  was  growing  hopelessly  moody, 
Ray  came  in,  and  settled  himself  among  the 
cushions,  rather  wearily. 

"  Ray,"  said  Edward,  anxiously,  "  you  are 
not  well  enough  for  lessons  to-night." 

"  No,"  answered  Ray,  smiling  however,  as 
he  spoke,  "  I  think  I  am  not,  because  I  want 
to  talk  instead.  I  am  full  of  a  scheme 
which  needs  your  help  ;  for  once,  we'll  let 
the  lessons  go.  It  is  an  age  since  I  have 
heard  anything  concerning  your  plans  ;  you 
have  not  given  up  your  desire  for  the  min- 
istry, I  hope  ?  " 

"  No,  Ray  ;  I  shall  never  give  that  up." 

"  I  thought  not ;  it  would  not  be  like  you 


332  TIP  LEW  IB  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

That  being  the  case,  isn't  it  time  to  do  some- 
thing definite  ?  " 

"  Time,  certainly,"  Edward  answered, 
gloomily  ;  "  but  what's  to  do  ?  " 

"  That  brings  me  to  the  unfolding  of  my 
scheme.  Edward,  do  you  know  that  it  was 
my  life-long  desire  to  reach  the  point  to- 
wards which  you  are  looking  ?  " 

*'  No,"  said  Edward,  with  pitying  interest ; 
•'  I  never  thought-of  it." 

"  Well,"  and  Ray  smiled  sadly,  "  it  is  so  ; 
and  I  hope  you  may  never  know  how  hard  it 
is  to  have  to  give  up  such  a  wish.  I  cannot 
say  that  I  did  actually  give  it  up  entirely 
until  very  lately.  I  gave  up  all  study  three 
years  ago,  and  came  home  to  regain  strength ; 
you  know  how  well  I  have  succeeded  in 
that."  And  Ray  pressed  his  thin,  wasting 
hand  across  his  damp  forehead.  "  It  is  all 
Tver  now,  utterly."  The  hand  did  duty  now 
for  a  moment,  shading  his  eyes  from  tb» 


TIP  LEWIS  AMD  HJ8  LAMP.  333 

light.  Presently  he  spoke  more  cheerily, 
"All  over  for  myself,  but  not  for  you;  so; 
Edward,  what  I  want  to  say  to-night,  in 
brief,  is  this:  you  have  t dents,  perseverance, 
and  health ;  I  have  money,  —  the  four  com- 
bined cannot  fail  to  speed  you  in  your  work. 
What  say  you  ? " 

"I  —  I  don't  understand  you,"  Edward 
spoke  in  complete  bewilderment. 

"  Let  me  speak  more  plainly.  I  want  you 
to  go  now,  immediately,  to  some  good  pre- 
paratory school,  thence  to  college,  thence  to 
the  seminary,  and  the  means  wherewith  to 
do  these  three  important  things  shall  be  at 
your  disposal.  Isn't  that  plain  ?  " 

"-Why,"  said  Edward,  "  I  don't  know 
what  to  say ;  I  am  too  much  astonished, 
and  —  and  thankful." 

"  Then  you  will  do  it  ?  " 

"Only,  — Ray?" 
'  Well  ? " 


334  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  Isn't  there  a  right  kind  of  pride,  about 
being  helped  in  these  things  ?  " 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  of  wrong  kind  of 
pride.  Let  me  show  you,"  and  he  sat  up 
and  spoke  eagerly.  "  It  is  right  and  honor- 
able for  people  to  help  themselves  in  this 
world,  but  very  vain  and  foolish  to  refuse 
help  which  would  greatly  aid  the  cause  that 
they  profess  to  have  at  heart.  You  see  how 
it  is  ;  God  has  given  me  money  ;  I  am  ready 
and  waiting  to  give  it  back  to  him.  I  would 
gladly  give  myself  to  him  in  the  ministry ; 
I  have  longed  and  prayed  for  this  ;  but  he 
has  seen  fit  not  to  answer  as  I  wished.  1 
have  no  strength  to  give  ;  you  have,  and  are 
ready  to  give  it.  Do  you  think  God  would 
be  less  pleased  with  the  offering  if  we  united 
it,  thus  giving  me  a  chance  to  do  some- 
thing ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Edward,  speaking  very  slow- 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP.  335 

ly  "  only,  I  had  hoped  to  accomplish  my 
plans  without  help  from  any  one  but  God." 

Ray  leaned  back  again,  among  the  cush- 
ions, and  spoke,  wearily,  — 

"  That  is,  you  prefer  to  be  a  great  many 
years  longer  in  preparation  than  you  need 
be,  and  have  about  half  as  much  strength  ; 
finally,  as  you  would  have  had  you  not 
overworked,  rather  than  give  me  a  chance 
to  do  what  I  could  since  I  cannot  do  what  1 
would." 

"  But,  Ray,  there  are  plenty  of  people  to 
help,  even  if  you  do  no  more  for  me.  The 
world  is  full  of  poor  young  men,  struggling 
to  get,  an  education." 

"  Yes,  that  is  so  ;  and  I  suppose  you  would 
eujoy  helping  some  young  man  out  in 
Oregon,  of  whom  you  had  never  heard, 
quite  as  well  as  you  would  me." 

Edward  came   quickly  to   the  sofa  where 


336  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP 

Ray  was  lying,  and  laid  his  hand  tenderly 
over  the  closed  eyes. 

"  Ray,  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  I 
would  not  do  for  you." 

"  Will  you  let  me  help  you  into  the  minis- 
try, as  rapidly  as  money  can  help  ?  " 

"  I  will  be  glad  to ;  it  is  a  great,  noble 
offer,  arid  I  thank  you  from  my  heart.  You 
mustn't  think  that  I  don't ;  only  I  thought  — 
perhaps " 

"  I  know,"  said  Ray,  for  Edward  had 
stopped,  doubtfully  ;  "  I  understand  just 
how  you  feel ;  but  I  do  think  the  feeling  in 
this  case,  at  least,  is  wrong ;  and,  my  dear 
brother,  you  will  be  glad  when  you  know 
how  thankful  you  have  made  me." 

"  Yes  ;  and  after  all  you  will  not  be  doing 
any  more  for  me  —  you  can't  —  than  you 
have  done.  I  think  money  is  very  little. 
compared  with  that." 

"  Ray,"  and   Edward   sank   down   among 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  B18  LAMP.  337 

the  cushions  iu  frout  of  him,  "  I  do  believe 
you  are  more  to  me  than  any  other  human 
being  ever  will  be." 

Ray  smiled,  quite  as  if  he  did  not  think 
so,  but  would  not  unsay  it  for  anything. 

"It  is  all  right,"  he  said,  gently,  after  a 
little  silence.  "  I  think  you  will  do  so  much 
more  than  I  ever  could  have  done.  God 
Mess  you,  my  dear  brother." 

After  that  Edward  went  up  to  his  room, 
got  out  his  little  red  Bible,  his  precious 
lamp,  and  opening  to  the  history  of  the 
rock-bound  grave,  read  on,  until  he  came  to 
the  verse,  "  And  when  they  looked,  they  saw 
that  the  stone, was  rolled  away."  Around 
this  he  made  heavy  marks  with  his  pencil, 
thinking,  meantime,  that  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  was  still  at  work  on  earth. 

"  Bob,"  said  Edward,  stopping  before 
Bob's  counter,  two  days  after  this  matter 


338  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

was  settled  ;  "  I  am  going  to  start  for  home 
in  the  morning." 

"  Are  you,  though  ?  "  Bob  answered, 
eagerly,  stopping  his  work  to  take  the  sen- 
tence in  fully  ;  "  my !  I  wish  I  was  going 
along,  just  to  see  what  folks  would  say." 

"  About  you,  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  Edward, 
laughing,  and  thinking  wonderingly,  as  well 
as  joyfully,  of  the  change  which  there  had 
been  in  Bob  Turner. 

Bob  had  a  counter,  too,  and  was  no  longer 
an  errand-boy ;  there  had  very  rarely  been 
known  such  a  rapid  promotion  in  that  store  ; 
but  the  truth  was,  Mr.  Minturn  had  early 
learned  that  Bob  Turner  was  destined  to  be, 
not  a  minister,  nor  a  lawyer,  not  even  a 
scholar,  but  a  thorough,  energetic,  successful 
merchant.  He  had  no  sooner  made  this  dis- 
covery than  he  determined  to  give  the  boy  a 
chance. 

So  Bob  had  earned  a  name  and  a  place  in 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


339 


the  store,  and  was  a  general  favorite  with  the 
other  clerks,  and  was  beginning  to  have  cus- 
tomers who  sought  him  out,  and  liked  to 
make  purchases  of  him.  More  than  all,  Bob 
was  an  earnest  Christian ;  his  loving  tender 
ness  for,  and  almost  worship  of  Ray  Minturn, 
kept  him  from  being  much  led  into  tempta- 
tion, and  his  influence  over  the  younger 
clerks  was  growing  to  be  for  good.  He  \vas 
destined  to  be  more  popular  than  Edward 
had  been  ;  for  Edward  had  risen  too  rapidly, 
and  was  too  much  at  home  with  the  entire 
Minturu  family,  not  to  be  looked  upon  with 
some  degree  of  envy. 

"  Well,  Tip,"  Bob  had  never  learned  not 
to  say  Tip,  and  probably  never  would,  but 
Edward  had  long  since  forgotten  to  care ; 
"  tell  every  one  at  home  that  I'm  well  and 
happy,  and  never  want  to  see  one  of  them 
again.  I  don't  believe  I  have  a  friend  there : 
any  how,  I  know  I  don't  deserve  to  have." 


CHAPTER  XXVH. 

"  WHEREWITHALL  SHALL  A  YOUNG  MAN  CLEANSE  HIS  WAT  ? 
BY  TAKING  HEED  THERETO,  ACCOEDING  TO  THY  WORD." 


&ITTY   LEWIS   shook   out  the  folds 
of  her  new,  brigh  t  pink  calico  dress, 


walked  to  the  little  looking-glass, 
for  about  the  tenth  time,  to  see  if 
the  dainty  white  ruffle  around  her  neck 
was  in  order ;  then  took  a  survey  of  the 
room,  lest  there  might  possibly  be  something 
else  to  do  which  would  improve  its  appear- 
ance. 

It  was  the  same  little  room  in  which  Kitty 
had  spent  her  childhood,  from  which  Johnny 

first,  and  then  long  afterwards  the  husband 
840 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  341 

and  father,  had  been  carried  out  to  return  no 
more.  And  yet  it  was  not  the  same,  —  there 
was  a  neat  rag  carpet  on  the  floor,  a  Christ- 
mas gift  from  Mrs.  Minturn ;  the  round  table 
in  the  corner  was  covered  with  a  bright  red 
cloth,  and  strewn  with  a  few  books  and 
papers;  the  full,  white  curtain  was  looped 
away  from  the  window,  and  the  light  of  a 
clear  sunset  glimmered  in  the  room  ;  every- 
thing was  neat  and  bright  arid  cheery.  The 
table  was  set  for  tea,  the  white  cloth  showing 
just  the  folds  in  which  it  was  ironed  ;  there 
were  three  plates  and  three  cups  and  saucers, 
instead  of  two,  while  Kitty,  in  her  restless 
wanderings  around  the  room,  and  Mrs. 
Lewis,  in  her  frequent  glances  out  of  the 
window,  both  showed  that  somebody  was 
being  watched  and  waited  for. 

"  The  eastern  train  is  in,"  Kitty  said,  final- 
ly. "  Now,  if  he  conies  to-night  he'll  be 
here  in  three  minutes."  And  it  could  not 


342  TIP  LK.WI&  AND  EI8  LAMP. 

have  been  much  more  than  that  when  a 
quick,  crushing  step  was  heard  on  the  gravel 
outside,  then  on  the  plank  before  the  door, 
then  the  door  swung  open,  and  Edward 
Lewis  walked  into  the  little  room  out  of 
which  he  had  gone  three  years  before. 

Kitty  was  all  ready  to  spring  forward,  say 
"  Oh,  Tip,"  and  throw  her  arms  right  around 
his  neck.  Instead,  she  stood  still.  Some 
way,  spite  of  the  long  letters  which  had 
passed  between  them  during  these  years, 
Kitty  had  fully  expected  to  see  a  stout, 
tanned  boy,  in  a  strong,  coarse  suit  of  gray, 
with  thick  boots  and  a  new  straw  hat.  Or, 
at  least,  —  why,  of  course,  she  knew  he 
must  have  changed  some  ;  hadn't  she  ?  But 
then  she  did  not  think  he  would  be  so  tall, 
and  have  a  face  and  hands  without  tan  or 
freckle,  or  that  his  clothes  would  be  so  very 
black  and  fine,  and  fit  as  though  they  had 
grown  on  him,  or  that  his  collar  would  be  so 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  343 

white  and  glossy  or  his  boots  so  small  aid 
shiny.  So  Kitty  stood  still  in  embarrassed 
silence.  But  the  mother,  oh,  she  saw  in  him 
the  picture  of  the  dear,  dead  father,  as  he 
used  to  come  to  her  long,  long  ago ;  the  hus- 
band who,  through  all  change  and  poverty 
and  pain,  she  had  always  loved !  And  all 
the  tenderness  that  had  ever  been  in  her 
heart  took  form,  and  spoke  in  those  words 
with  which  she  came  forward  to  greet  her 
son,  —  "  Oh,  my  dear  boy  !  " 

There  was  happiness  in  the  little  home 
that  night,  only  the  bedroom  door  was 
closed,  and  Edward  knew  that  his  father's 
bed  was  vacant. 

Such  a  queer  feeling  as  possessed  him  all 
the  next  day,  while  he  went  around  the  vil- 
lage! He  went  every  where.  He  felt  like 
walking  through  every  street,  and  stepping 
on  every  stone  on  which  his  feet  had  trod  in 
the  old  life-row  utterly  gone  from  him.  He 


344  Tip  LE  WIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

wandered  down  to  the  river-bank  where  he 
had  lain  that  summer  morning,  and  envied 
the  fishes  ;  and,  standing  there,  thanked  God 
for  the  mission-class  in  Mr.  Holbrook's  Sab- 
bath school.  Thence  to  the  cemetery,  where 
by  the  side  of  little  Johnnj-'s  grave  the  new 
life  had  been  commenced.  There  was  a  long 
grave  beside  the  short  one  now  ;  and  stand- 
ing there,  he  thanked  God  for  the  hope 
which  he  had  of  meeting  the  father  and  the 
baby  in  heaven.  Thence  to  the  great  elm- 
tree  at  the  foot  of  the  hill ;  and  standing 
there  he  took  out  once  more  the  little  red 
Bible,  and  turned  the  leaves  lovingly  ;  lin- 
gered over  the  name  written  by  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook's  hand,  turned  again  to  the  first  verse 
which  he  had  ever  read  from  its  pages : 
"  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a 
light  unto  my  path."  Time  and  again  had 
he  proved  the  truth  of  that  verse.  There, 
under  that  very  tree,  it  had  helped  him  to 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  345 

nght  battles  with  Satau,  and  come  off  con 
queror.  And  he  thanked  God  for  the  Bible. 
After  that  he  went  directly  to  the  village ; 
just  looked  in  at  the  meat  market  for  the 
sake  of  the  old  days. 

Somebody  told  Mr.  Dewey  who  was  com- 
ing, and  he  was  just  ready  to  say,  "  Hollo, 
Tip  ;  "  but  instead,  he  came  around  from  be- 
hind the  counter,  and  holding  out  his  hand, 
said,  "  How  do  you  do,  Lewis  ?  Glad  to  see 
you." 

Something,  either  in  the  city-made  clothes 
or  the  quiet  air  of  dignity  with  which  they 
were  worn,  made  him  dislike  to  say  "  Hollo, 
Tip,"  to  the  tall  young  man  before  him. 

Mr.  Minturn  shook  him  heartily  by  the 
hand.  "  Never  rejoiced  over  any  one's  luck 
more  in  my  life  !  "  he  said  then,  in  the  same 
breath,  "  HQW'S  Ray  ?  Oh,  yes,  I  see  how  it 
is,  poor  fellow.  And  you  love  him  too  ;  of 
oourse,  every  one  does." 


346  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BJ8  LAMP. 

There  was  still  the  school-room  to  visit, 
and  as  Edward  went  up  the  familiar  walk  he 
wished  Bob  Turner  could  have  been  with 
him  to  make  this  call.  But  Bob  was  proba- 
bly rushing  like  a  top  through  the  city  store, 
without  a  thought  of  the  old  school-house  or 
the  miserable  days  which  he  had  spent  there. 

Mr.  Burrows  himself  answered  the  knock, 
and  gave  him  a  hearty  greeting.  Three 
years  had  made  changes  there.  Edward 
found  himself  looking  eagerly  towards  the 
back  row  of  seats  for  the  old  faces,  —  Will, 
Howard,  Ellis,  and  half  a  dozen  others, — 
before  he  remembered  that  they  had  long 
since  entered  higher  schools.  The  boys 
whom  he  had  left  plodding  through  long 
division  were  filling  those  back  seats  now 
and  leading  their  classes  in  algebra  and 
Latin.  He  sat  down  near  the  blackboard  to 
watch  the  progress  of  Joe  Bartlett  through 
an  example  in  division.  And  behold,  he  was 


TIP  LEWI 8  AND  SIS  LAMP  347 

loing  that  old  never-to-be-forgotten  example 
about  the  cows  and  sheep  !  He  picked  up 
an  arithmetic  eagerly. 

"  Mr.  Burrows,  do  you  remember  that  ex- 
ample ?  " 

"  I  remember  that  it  Ijas  puzzled  some 
forty  or  more  of  my  boys  in  the  course  of 
time,"  said  Mr.  Burrows,  laughing ;  "  but 
nothing  very  special  about  it." 

"  I  do ;  it  was  the  cause  of  my  first  promo- 
tion." 

"  Was  it,  indeed  !  I'm  afraid  it  will  never 
be  the  cause  of  poor  Joseph's  ;  it  seems  to  be 
mastering  him." 

Mr.  Burrows  was  engaged  with  a  gram- 
mar class,  and  Edward  offered  to  assist  the 
bewildered  Joseph. 

"  I  remember  those  sheep  of  old,"  he  said 
kindly,  as  he  turned  to  the  board.  "  Isn't  it 
the  '  stood  him  in  '  that  troubles  you  ?  " 


348  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  Joe  answered,  grumbly.  "  1 
don't  see  no  sense  to  it." 

"  Let  me  show  you.  Suppose "  A.nd 

he  went  through  with  the  well  remembered 
explanation.  It  was  successful,  Joe  under- 
stood it,  and  went  on  briskly  with  his  fig 
ures. 

Edward  turned  towards  Mr.  Burrows.  "  It 
was  the  way  my  father  explained  it  to  me," 
he  said,  with  eyes  that  glistened  a  little. 

Some  one  brought  Mr.  Burrows  a  note, 
and  as  he  read  and  laid  it  down  he  said,  — 

"  Now,  Edward,  if  you  had  continued  at 
school  instead  of  running  away  from  us,  I 
should  get  you  to  hear  this  recitation  in 
algebra,  and  take  leave  of  absence  for  a  few 
minutes.  There  is  a  friend  in  town  whom  I 
would  give  much  to  see  before  the  next 
train  leaves." 

"  Suppose  you  set  me  at  it  as  it  is." 

Mr.  Burrows  looked  surprised. 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 


349 


"  Have  you  been  studying  algebra,  Ed- 
ward ?  " 

u  Somewhat." 

"  How  far  have  you  been  ?  " 

"  Through." 

"  Do  you  feel  positive  that  you  could  do  ex- 
amples over  here  ?  "  turning  to  "  Evolution." 

"  Entirely"  Edward  answered,  smiling  at 
Mr.  Burrows'  doubts.  Ray'  had  been  a 
thorough  teacher. 

So  Mr.  Burrows  went  away,  and  Edward 
took  his  seat  on  the  stage  and  commenced 
the  recitation.  At  first  the  boys  were  dis- 
posed to  be  wise,  and  display  their  knowl- 
edge ;  when  they  had  known  him  last,  he  was 
in  division.  But  he  was  in  algebra  now,  or 
rather  through  it,  and  they  speedily  discov- 
ered that  he  seemed  to  have  every  example 
in  the  lesson  committed  to  memory. 

Meantime,  Mr.  Burrows  returned,  and  lis- 
tened with  astonishment  and  delight. 


350  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIB  LAMP. 

"  Thank  you,  heartily,"  he  said,  after- 
wards ;  "  you  ought  to  fit  yourself  for  teach- 
ing. But,  Edward,  you  did  not  get  through 
algebra  alone  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Edward,  flushing  at  the  thought 
of  Ray ;  "  I  had  the  best  and  wisest  teacher 
on  earth." 

Well,  he  sat  down  in  what  had  been  his 
seat,  and  tried  to  imagine  that  it  was  his  seat 
still ;  that  Bob  would  be  in  pretty  soon,  and 
plague  him  while  he  studied  his  spelling-les- 
son. But  he  could  not  do  it.  "  Things  were 
different ; "  very  different.  First  and  fore- 
most, there  was  Ray  ;  he  had  not  known  him 
in  those  days  ;  if  he  had,  he  said  to  himself, 
things  would  have  been  different  long  before 
they  were. 

Going  back  up  town  he  met  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook,  who  turned  and  walked  with  him. 

"  And  so,"  he  said,  after  the  long  talk  was 
concluded,  "  you  go  next  week,  do  you  ?  " 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 


351 


•*  Next  Tuesday,  sir." 

"Well,  God  bless  you,  my  friend,  as  he 
has,  and  will."  Then,  after  a  minute,  "  Ed- 
ward, my  son  is  a  wanderer  yet ;  do  you  still 
remember  him  ?  " 

"  Always,  sir,"  Edward  answered,  in  firm 
steady    tones  ;    "  and,   Mr.    Holbrook,   God 
never  forgets ! " 

As  he  went  on  past  Mr.  Minturn's  store, 
could  he  have  heard  the  remarks  that  were 
made  there,  very  likely  he  might  have  remem- 
bered a  certain  statement  which  he  made  to 
the  little  fishes  that  summer  morning. 

Mr.  Minturn,  looking  out  after  him,  said 
to  Mr.  Dewey,  — 

"There  goes  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
promising  young  men  in  this  town." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Dewey,  laughing  a 
little ;  *'  I  used  to  notice  that  he  improved 
every  day  after  he  brought  back  those  circus 
tickets." 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

1  FOR  THOU  SHALT    FIND  IT  AFTER   MANY   DATg." 

OME    in,"    and    the    Rev.    Edward 
Lewis  laid   down   his   book,  pushed 
back     his     study     chair,    and     was 
y     ready  to  receive  whoever  was  knock- 
ing at  his  study  door. 

"  Mr.  Lewis,"  said  the  little  girl  who  came 
in  in  answer  to  his  invitation,  "father  has 
just  come  from  the  post-office,  and  he 
brought  you  some  letters,  and  here  they 
are." 

Mr.    Lewis   thanked    his   little    next-door 

neighbor,    took    his   letters,   and    when   the 
862 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  H18  LAMP.  358 

room  was  quiet  again,  settled  back  in  his 
chair  to  enjoy  them. 

The  first  one  was  from  a  brother  minister, 
begging  an  exchange.  The  next  brought  a 
look  of  surprise  and  delight  to  his  face,  for 
he  recognized  Ellis  Holbrook's  handwriting. 
A.nd  the  delight  spread  and  deepened  as  he 
read ;  especially  when  he  came  to  one  sen- 
tence :  "  I  asked  father  what  message  he  had 
for  you,  and  he  replied,  '  Send  him  this 
verse,  and  tell  him  that  again  it  is  peculiarly 
his :  "I  love  the  Lord,  because  he  has  heard 
my  voice  and  my  supplication.' '  That  you 
see,  would  have  told  me  the  whole  story, 
without  this  long  letter.  I  thank  God  that 
he  put  it  into  your  heart  to  pray  for  me,  as 
also  that  he  has  heard  your  prayers.  God 
bless  you.  By  the  way,  father  wants  you  to 
assist  him  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  July.  I 
earnestly  hope  you  can  do  so  ;  he  thinks  you 
will  be  coming  east  about  that  time." 


354  TIP  LEWIS  AND  BIS  LAMP. 

Was  there  ever  a  more  thankful  heart  than 
was  that  minister's  as  he  laid  down  his  old 
school-fellow's  letter  ?  How  constantly,  how 
sometimes  almost  hopelessly,  had  he  prayed 
for  Ellis  Holbrook!  How  many  times  had 
he  been  obliged  to  reassure  himself  with  the 
promise,  "  In  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we 
faint  not."  And  now,  again,  had  God's 
word  been  verified  to  him.  He  took  the 
letter  up  once  more,  to  look  lovingly  at  that 
closing,  never  before  written  by  Ellis, — 
"  Your  brother  in  Christ." 

There  was  still  another  letter  to  read. 
That  writting,  too,  was  familiar ;  he  had  re- 
ceived many  reminders  of  it  during  the  past 
years.  He  laughed  as  he  read,  it  sounded 
BO  like  the  writer  ;  — 

ALBANY,  June  — ,  18 — . 
"DflAB  TIP,  —  Do    you  have  fourth  of 
July  out  your  way  this  year  ?    We  do  here 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

in  Albany  ;  rather,  I'm  going  to  have  one  in 
my  yard.  Perhaps  you  remember  a  fourth 
of  July  which  you  took  me  to  once,  when 
we  were  ragged  little  wretches  at  home  ?  I 
do,  any  how,  and  this  is  to  be  twin-brother 
to  that  time.  All  the  ugly,  dingy  little  ur- 
chins that  I  know  have  been  invited.  We're 
to  have  fine  fireworks  and  fine  singing  and 
fine  eating.  My  wife  added  that  last  item  ; 
thought  it  a  great  improvement.  I'm  not 
sure  but  it  is  ;  most  things  are  that  she  has  a 
hand  in.  Now,  to  come  to  the  point  of  this 
letter,  —  you're  to  make  the  speech  on  that 
occasion.  No  getting  out  of  it  now !  I 
planned  this  thing  one  day  in  the  old  school- 
house.  Oh,  did  you  know  Mr.  Burrows  had 
given  up  teaching  ?  Grown  too  old.  Queer, 
isn't  it  ?  Don't  seem  as  if  anybody  was 
growing  old  except  me.  At  first  I  wasn't 
going  to  have  my  feast  on  the  fourth,  be- 
cause, you  remember,  it  was  on  that  day  that 


356  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

our  blessed  Ray  left  us ;  but,  talking  with 
Mr.  Minturn  about  it,  he  said  Ray  would 
have  been  delighted  with  it  all,  and  so  he 
would,  you  know.  Don't  think  we  are  go- 
ing to  gather  in  all  Albany  ;  it's  only  the 
younger  scholars  of  the  mission-school,  in 
which  my  wife  and  I  are  interested. 

"  Tell  Howard  and  Kitty  to  be  sure  and 
come ;  they  can  put  their  visit  a  few  weeks 
earlier  as  well  as  not. 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  if  you  have  heard 
from  Ellis  Holbrook  lately,  you  are  singing 
4  Glory  Hallelujah  '  by  this  time  ! 

"  I  am  writing  this  in  the  counting-room, 
and  am  in  a  great  hurry,  though  you 
wouldn't  think  it.  Shall  expect  you  by  the 
third,  certainly.  Yours,  etc., 

"Bos  TUBNKB. 

These  letters  came  on  Saturday  evening. 
The  next  morning  in  Sabbath  school,  when 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HI8  LAMP.  85T 

the  superintendent's  bell  rang,  the  minister 
left  his  class  of  mission-scholars,  and  went 
up  the  aisle  towards  the  altar.  Pausing  first 
to  speak  with  a  bright-eyed  little  lady,  who 
sat  before  her  class  of  bright-eyed  little 
girls. 

"  Kitty,  where  is  Howard  ?  " 

"  At  home,  coaxing  a  fit  of  sick-head- 
ache." 

"  Well,  here  are  letters  that  will  interest 
you  both  ;  came  last  evening,  —  one  con- 
tains an  invitation.  Tell  Howard  I  think 
we  must  try  to  go.  Mother  bade  me  tell 
you  she  wanted  to  see  you  at  the  parsonage 
in  the  morning  ;  she  is  not  out  to-day." 

Then  he  went  on.  The  scholars  began  to 
sit  up  straight,  and  fold  their  arms ;  they 
knew  they  must  listen,  if  they  wanted  Mr. 
Lewis  to  talk  to  them.  When  every  eye 
was  fixed  on  him,  he  began,  — 

"  Children,  I  have  a  very  short  story  to 


358  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

tell  you  to-day,  about  myself.  Years  ago, 
when  1  was  a  little  boy,  my  Sabbath-school 
teacher  told  us  a  story,  one  morning,  which 
was  the  means  of  bringing  me  to  Jesus.  I 
have  to  thank  that  lady,  next  to  God,  that  I 
am  standing  here  to-day  a  minister  of  Christ. 
She  was  not  our  regular  teacher,  but  was  a 
stranger  ;  I  never  saw  her  after  that  Sabbath. 
Perhaps  you  can  imagine  how  I  have  longed, 
since  I  became  a  man  and  a  minister,  to 
find  that  lady,  and  tell  her  what  one  hour  of 
faithful  teaching  did  for  me.  I  thought  it 
would  help  her,  encourage  her.  I  thought 
she  would  be  likely  to  tell  it  to  other  teach- 
ers, and  it  would  help  them.  But  though  I 
had  it  always  in  mind,  and  made  very  earn- 
est efforts  to  find  her,  I  never  succeeded 
until  last  week.  You  know,  children,  it  is 
ten  years  since  I  came  here  to  be  your  pastor, 
and  last  week  I  learned  that  during  all  this 
time  I  have  been  living  within  twenty  miles 


TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP.  359 

of  the  lady  whom  I  have  so  long  been  seek- 
ing. And  what  else  do  you  think  I  heard  of 
her  ?  Why,  that  two  weeks  ago  she  died. 
Scholars,  my  first  thought  was  a  sad  one, 
that  I  never  could  thank  her  now.  But  you 
know  I  can ;  I  expect  to,  one  of  these  days. 
Why,  when  I  get  to  heaven,  one  of  the 
first  things  I  shall  do  will  he  to  seek  her  out 
and  tell  her  about  it.  So,  you  see,  she  will 
know  it,  even  if  some  of  the  watching  angels 
up  there  have  not  told  her  tdready. 

"  Just  here,  I  want  to  say  one  word  to  the 
teachers.  This  incident  should  come  with 
wonderful  encouragement  to  your  hearts ; 
reminding  you  that  you  may  often  speak 
words  which  spring  up,  and  bear  fruit,  that 
reaches  up  to  God.  Though  you  do  not 
know  it,  and  will  not,  until  hi  heaven  you 
take  your  crowns,  and  question  why  there 
are  so  many  stars. 

"Cliildren,  next  Sabbath  I  will  tell  you 


360  TIP  LEWIS  AND  HIS  LAMP. 

the  story  which  led  me  to  Christ ;  and  all 
this  week  I  am  going  to  pray  that  it  may 
have  the  same  effect  on  some  of  my  scholars. 
"  It  is  time  now  for  your  verse.  If  any  of 
you  can  find  out  why  what  I  have  beeL 
telling  you  to-day  made  me  think  of  this 
verse,  you  may  tell  me  next  Sabbath. 
Now  repeat :  '  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the 
waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many 


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